


Haven

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU - Fairy Tale, Arranged Marriage, But He Kind Of Deserves It, Crowley Is Smug, Execution, F/M, Good Things Happen When Winchesters Talk To Each Other, Lucifer Likes to Make Deals, M/M, Michael Doesn't Know How To Let Things Go, Oops., Rowena Is Kind Of Manipulative, Ruby Too, Sam Has Powers, Sam What Are You Doing, Sappily Ever After Ending, Shut Up Cas Is Totally A Winchester, Titles are hard, Why Don't People Ever Use Common Sense?, assassination plots, kind of Castiel/Meg Masters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-04 03:52:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4124655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>King Michael of Eden had a reputation as being the best - both in terms of power, and in terms of character.  So when he offered shelter to two princes whose kingdom was taken in a blitz by Gehenna, they accepted gladly.  Dean trained with the Edenite army, and Sam studied with his old tutor Bobby and his new tutor, Michael's brother Gabriel.  They had a plan to retake Kansas.  But then it all went to hell when Sam ended up saving Castiel's life...</p>
<p>*The underage warning is because Sam is 16/17 (talked about only at 16), but nothing more than kissing is ever shown.  In his world, this is perfectly fine, but better to overtag than undertag in potentially squicky situations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Running Away

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a time there was a woman who wrote stories. She read a prompt, thought it sounded interesting, and promptly forgot it because another prompt caught her eye. Later, she came back and looked at it again. "There's a good story in there," she thought, but once again, she left it alone. Then she went back and looked at it one more time. "No, seriously, this is a really good story. I'm going to see if I can write it."
> 
> This... is not that story.
> 
> It was supposed to be. I took the prompt and wrote a summary of what I wanted to do with it, and it went so far into left field it's hard to recognize as coming from the prompt. I may try again to write the *actual* prompt, now that this is out of my head, but... this happened instead, this time.
> 
> The original prompt, from Shuufleur:  
> Sastiel AU in which Sam and Dean are Princes. Their castle was burnt down with their father. They need to go to a neighbouring kingdom for the time being. But enemies are out there to get them, so they hire mercenaries. Dean knows Gabriel, who works with his brothers and sisters. Castiel and Sam meet, and they just like each other. Dean doesn’t really like it, not because he is jealous but because he doesn’t trust Castiel with his brother.  
> During the trip, Sam has a vision, he thinks he is a seer since he found out that his nightmares really happen (like the fire). In his vision, Dean died of an arrow in the heart. Sam takes it instead.  
> Soon, they’ll learn that their enemies are powerful. When Cas almost died because of him, Sam decided to take matters into his own hands and to accept what Lucifer has to offer. Even if it meant death, he’d go without a second thought. Lucifer said that Dean and Cas, and everyone he cares about will not be harmed.  
> All he hopes is that Lucifer didn’t lie.

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Kansas, there lived a family. King John, of the house of Winchester, ruled sternly and well, and the kingdom prospered. His lovely wife, Mary, was the only daughter of one of Kansas’s most influential noble families, the house of Campbell. They had two sons: Dean, the elder, was a prodigy with weapons and a natural leader, a perfect heir for John; the younger, Samuel, was a genius and perfectly content to live in Dean’s shadow.

Naturally, the charmed life couldn’t last. There had been worrying rumors out of one of the neighboring kingdoms, Gehenna, for months. Then the armies started to roll in. John had tried to muster his forces, but Gehenna’s captain was too fast. Their forces swept through the Kansas countryside, reaching the town of Lawrence where John’s primary residence was built in a matter of weeks. The Gehennan army set the town ablaze, and surrounded the castle.

“We’re going to lose this one,” John admitted privately to one of his advisors. Bobby Singer was the royal tutor, and the person he trusted most with the task he wanted done. “Take the princes through the escape tunnel. Burn the supports behind you so these damned Gehennans can’t get in that way. Get those boys to safety. Teach them well, and make sure they know that we went down fighting. When Dean’s old enough, he can come back and retake his kingdom, but he has to live through this first.”

Bobby didn’t like it, and Dean liked it even less, but Bobby knew the trump card. “I know you wanna stay and fight, Dean. But you know your daddy, if he asked me to take you two and get out, he don’t think there’s a chance. You willing to bet that you’re good enough to make enough difference that you ain’t trapping Sam and condemning him to death?”

“What? Of course not!” Dean stared at Bobby in bewilderment. “You’re taking Sammy and getting the hell out.”

“No, he’s not,” Sam said, exactly as Bobby had known he would. “Because I won’t go without you. Dean, please, think this through. We can’t help Dad by staying here. You make me go alone, do you really think the puppy eyes will convince people to overlook the fact that I’m a good enough fighter but no commander? I can’t take Kansas back by myself. And without you, I’m in much more danger from mercenaries looking to end the house of Winchester, and much less protected.”

“Sammy…” Dean found he couldn’t argue with Sam’s logic, and Bobby hid the chuckle. “Fine. I’m guessing we leave as soon as possible?”

“Yep.” Bobby handed them each a backpack. “Got essentials and as much coin as I could stash without making them too heavy for you boys. You should be okay for a few years. Won’t be able to live like you did here, but neither of you ever cared much for the expensive habits anyway.” Bobby led them into the secret tunnel. It twisted and turned a few times, eventually connecting to a natural underground canyon system. Bobby turned around and held his torch to the wooden beams that supported the tunnel entrance, until the support structure caught fire. He led the boys through the caverns, emerging about a mile south of the castle.

“Okay. I haven’t actually planned too far ahead, but for the next few days while we figure out what to do, I’m taking you boys to my place. From there I can get information and figure out the best place to stash the two of you more permanently.” Bobby led the way southwest to Sioux Falls, a village small enough to avoid Gehenna’s attention on its way in.

A little girl came running out to meet them. “Papa? You’re home early!”

“That I am, Josie,” Bobby said, picking the girl up as she stretched her arms up to him. “Where’s your mama?”

“At home.” The little girl stared curiously at the princes. “You’ve never brought people home before. Who’re they?”

“Let’s get home, that way I only hafta introduce them once,” Bobby suggested. “Run ahead and tell your mama we’re comin’.” The girl left, running swiftly through the streets.

A woman met them at the end of the lane leading to a small house. “Bobby, what’s goin’ on?”

“Boys, this is my wife Ellen and her daughter Joanna Beth, Jo for short,” Bobby said. “Ellie, the boys I work with. Big one’s Dean, little one’s Sam.”

“Hello, boys,” Ellen said, bobbing a quick curtsy. “Come on in.”

Once inside, Bobby told Ellen and Jo what had happened, and why Dean and Sam were here and they shouldn’t call attention to that fact. “Gonna spend a day or two sendin’ out pigeons to Kansas’s allies, then we wait and see who’s willin’ to shelter them and what they want for it.”

“Sounds good. M’lords, it’s probably best if you stay inside, we’re close enough to Lawrence that if the Gehennans ain’t total idiots they’d send someone here to ask around, soon’s they know the princes got out.” Ellen dished out some stew and passed out bread. “Sorry, boys, I know it ain’t what you’re used to.”

“It’s better than what we’d have if Bobby hadn’t brought us here,” Dean said. “We’d probably be dead by now.”

 

Several days later, pigeons began returning. Everyone was grateful; the princes were getting restless, and it was affecting the others. “Okay. Some of your allies write that it would be a great honor to shelter you, but that the forces of Gehenna are strong and after what they did to Kansas, they’re uncertain of their ability to protect you.”

“In other words, please don’t come here we’re too scared, but we don’t want to offend you in case you do win your kingdom back and decide to come after those who outright refused to help,” Dean translated.

Ellen huffed. “Sounds about right.”

Bobby picked up another stack of papers. “On the other hand, there are a few offers of sanctuary. Some of ‘em are askin’ things I’m not sure we can manage, which would mean that when the time comes, you ain’t gonna be able to rely on their help in coming back. One place says they think it would be best if we separated the two of you. Couched in terms of practicality, if you’re in two different kingdoms then Gehenna has two wars to fight to end the house instead of one.”

“I am not leaving Sammy,” Dean snapped.

“My opinion is that your best option is Eden. Their king, Michael, ain’t got nothing to fear from Gehenna since they’ve been at war for so long no one even remembers how it started.” Bobby riffed through the papers until he found the letter from Eden. “King Michael’s proposal is to put Dean to work in one of his armies, one that will fight with him when he’s ready to go home. Sam’ll stay back to continue his education.”

“Sounds great,” Dean said. “What’s the catch?”

“None that I can find,” Bobby said, though he shared Dean’s skepticism. “He’s even promised me a job and a home, because he thinks whoever’s leading this Gehennan army will figure out I’m the one who helped you escape and come after me and mine.”

“He probably would,” Sam agreed. “This sounds too good to be true. There’s gotta be something we’re missing.”

“Not sure about that,” Ellen said. “Long as you expect King Michael to hold sheltering you over you whenever he needs a favor in the future.”

“Well, yeah, whoever we went to was gonna do that,” Dean said. “We’d do the same thing if the situation were reversed. What do you think, Sam?”

Sam shook his head. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, but I can’t put my finger on anything concrete. It may well be I’m just jumpy from not sleeping well, the nightmares I’ve been having. On the surface, it’s a very generous offer and all we could hope for, and we’re certainly not putting any kind of target on Eden or King Michael.”

“Only other offer I’m sure we could do is from Britain, King Isaac says they’ll take you in and train you in exchange for one of you two, Dean for preference, marrying their daughter Bela.” Bobby found their letter and passed it to Sam.

“The problem with that is that so far Britain’s stayed out of Gehenna’s notice, so we’d bring a target on them,” Sam said. “And depending on what Bela’s like, that could suck.” Dean waited, letting Sam think things through. “It’s up to you, Dean, but with Eden we’ve got so much good weighed against my nebulous bad feeling. I’d recommend them.”

“I trust your gut, Sam, there’s some catch we’re missing here,” Dean said. “But I agree that it’s probably the best option we've got.”


	2. Welcome to Eden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Gabriel officially welcome the boys to Eden and put them to work. They meet Castiel, who's going to be a big part of their lives for their stay here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I got so busy trying to come up with a friggin' title I forgot to note that this was a multi-chapter work! Sorry for any confusion, but yeah, there is more coming.

A pair of knights met them at the border of Eden. They introduced themselves as Hannah and Balthazar, explaining that they had been sent to monitor this part of the border and watch for the princes, so that they would have an armed escort to the king’s castle. “You should be safe enough in Eden, but His Majesty is taking no chances on a Gehennan raiding party slipping through our defenses.”

A few days into their walk, Bobby brought up something that had been bothering him. “Isn’t your king’s capital a lot more west? We’ve mostly been heading north. Where are we going?”

“You finally noticed that, did you,” Balthazar said. 

Hannah glared at Balthazar. “His Majesty’s younger brother Prince Gabriel maintains his residence in the northern part of the kingdom, one of our primary lines of defense against Gehenna. Michael thought it would be best to place the Kansan princes there. He will be there to meet you personally.”

“Why with Prince Gabriel?” Dean asked, exchanging glances with Sam. Was this the hidden catch, the cause of Sam’s bad feeling?

Hannah just shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a reason, but when your lord gives you an order, you don’t ask why. You do the job. I was told to escort you to Prince Gabriel, and that’s what I’ll do.”

 

When they arrived at Gabriel’s castle, a servant showed them to the throne room. The travelers approached and bowed. “I’m glad you made it safely, princes. Welcome to Eden,” Michael said.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Dean said. “My brother and I are very grateful for your invitation and hospitality.”

“Your father was a friend to me, one of the few I could always depend on to tell me the truth. He always helped me when I was in need. It would be most ungracious of me to not help his sons,” Michael said. “However, I know that no son of John Winchester would be content to sit in my court and bide their time, nor do I think that what’s best for you. Gabriel suggested a plan to give you both work that will both let you feel useful here, rather than a burden, and prepare you for the day you reclaim Kansas.”

Gabriel stepped forward. “Prince Sam, the best place in Eden to go for an education happens to be right here. I usually hide it behind joviality, but like you, I was raised to be a scholar to provide my brother with useful advice. But I drive Michael nuts, so he sent me out here instead. How’s that sound?”

"Mostly good,” Sam said, shooting a nervous glance at Dean. He didn’t want to be separated from his brother, not now, in a place filled with strangers, and not with these new nightmares that wouldn’t let him get a decent night’s sleep.

“The Singers have always been the best royal tutors Kansas has to offer,” Gabriel continued. “Michael promised Bobby a job here, and since the two of you already know each other, seems logical enough to me to have Bobby just continue as your tutor. I’ll help out when I can, I know what I have here and probably have things I can teach you that Bobby can’t. This assumes, of course, that you’d like to continue, Bobby?”

“Course I want to continue,” Bobby said. “Your highness.”

“Great. And Prince Dean, you’re going a bit more of a practical approach,” Gabriel said. “Gehenna routinely tests my patience and defenses. You want to lead an army to retake Kansas? Start by learning to lead a group of soldiers in battle. In between, you’ll be here, so you and your brother won’t be separated any more than necessary. Michael and me, the best thing to do is keep us far apart, but everything I ever heard from your father was that you two actually get along. You’ve lost enough for one month, I think.”

“King John was going to do something similar soon, Dean,” Bobby said.

“The flies in the ointment here… first off, the other officers won’t like dealing with someone leading soldiers who isn’t doing so without having been sworn to either Michael or me,” Gabriel continued.

Michael cleared his throat. “But a king cannot have such a vow to another king, let alone a prince, not if he wants to command respect as he should.”

“So I swear my loyalty to you, until death claims me, I claim my rightful place as King of Kansas, or my king frees me,” Dean offered. Michael nodded, and Dean repeated the words in the standard form of the vow.

“The other thing,” Gabriel said. “You need this experience, but there is great danger in it. You will be provided with a guard, a servant whose primary responsibility is your protection.” Dean nodded; it was a standard practice for sons of nobles. Gabriel waved a young man about the same age as Dean forward. “This is Castiel. He’s one of our most promising young fighters. If he gets killed because you placed yourself in easily-avoided danger for no good reason, I’m not gonna be happy.”

Castiel bowed. “I am at your disposal, your highness.”

“I think that’s everything,” Gabriel said. “You’ve had a long trip, I have this suspicion you could do with some rest. Michael? Anything I’m forgetting?”

“I don’t think so,” Michael said. “Go settle in.”

 

Michael didn’t stay long, so a routine developed quickly. Dean and Castiel quickly dispensed with any formality between them – “If you’re gonna be saving my ass when I get in trouble, you get to call me Dean,” the prince had decided after half a day. Dean also decided that Castiel was too long to shout if he needed help. Cas didn’t really mind the nickname, although it did make him wonder if Dean was the reason Sam usually went by the short form of his name.

About a week after their arrival, Dean decided that it was kind of silly to have a bodyguard hanging around all the time when he was in absolutely no danger worse than tripping over a loose cobble. He sent Cas off to go do whatever it was he liked doing. It only took a few seconds for Castiel to decide.

Sam spent most of his time in the library or training with Dean. It hadn’t taken him a day to realize that the most likely cause of Dean being in the kind of trouble that Cas was assigned to protect him from was because of his younger brother. Not that Sam was reckless or stupid, but Dean had a tendency to get that way if Sam was threatened. Very few conversations didn’t include a Sammy story or saying or some other sort of reference to Sam. Castiel was very curious about the prince.

Castiel found Sam sitting at a table with a pile of books beside him. “What are you reading?”

Sam jumped. “Castiel! You scared me.” He looked around, face wrinkling in confusion. “Where’s Dean?”

“I would guess either training or in the kitchens trying to flirt his way to some pie,” Cas said. “He told me to go away and give him a moment’s peace.”

Sam ran a hand through his hair. “It’s probably not just pie he’s after, then. Or flirting. Don’t take it personally, he probably just wanted you out of the way so he could bed some girl.”

Castiel hadn’t considered that. But then, Dean was eighteen and a prince, which meant that he had his body telling him to find a bedmate and no trouble finding willing ones. “To be honest, I was just as happy to go. Your brother is a good man and a fine prince, but after a week of constantly being with him, he was starting to annoy me.”

Sam laughed heartily. “Don’t have to tell me that. I’m amazed you made it a week before he started getting on your nerves. I love him to death, but he is annoying.” He looked back at the book open before him, which seemed to trigger his memory. “Oh, uh… I know I’m supposed to be mostly studying law and history and stuff, but sometimes I need a break so I read about something less practical. My favorite is astrology, and I found a book of basic Edenite astrology. Everything we had at home was Kansan, and I was curious to see if they were more similar or more different.”

“And what have you found so far?” Castiel asked.

“You guys have some weird ideas about the sun and the moon, but the other planets and the stars are pretty much the same,” Sam said. “Although I’m sure from your perspective, it’s our ideas about the sun and the moon that are weird. So it’s more similar, but there are some pretty significant differences too.”

“When I was younger, I wanted to be an astrologer,” Castiel said. “Of course, my father had other ideas for his son, he sent me to be trained as a soldier. When I have some time free in a place like this, I still like to come read through the books, although the calculations involved in correcting the tables for predicting the positions of the planets are well beyond me.”

“I can do them, I think,” Sam said. “Bobby showed me a couple of tricks that helped a lot. But I don’t really like to. I’m more interested in the actual observation, but I wasn’t allowed to stay up and watch the stars very much back home.”

“How are you at reading the foretellings in the stars?” Castiel asked.

For some reason, Sam suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “No good at all,” Sam eventually forced out. “I’m terrible. If we were intended to be able to predict the future, I’m sure there would be much less ambiguity in everything. They say a comet foretells the death of a prince, or the fall of a kingdom, right? Well, our court astrologer never said anything about a comet to us, but what if Gehenna saw one and that’s why they took such a bold approach in their battle?”

“My apologies, I meant no offense, your highness,” Castiel said, standing and bowing. It occurred to him that he had been speaking with Sam just the same as if he were speaking with Dean, and that it was highly inappropriate of him. “Please forgive my lack of courtesy, your brother…”

Sam huffed in amusement. “I really don’t care how you address me or whatever it is you think you’ve done wrong, I’m sure Dean’s told you all kinds of things about me that have already ruined any kind of princely dignity I might have had.”

“No, your highness,” Castiel said. “He’s always spoken of you as someone who should command the highest respect. I came to the library when Dean told me to take some time off partly in hope that you would be here.”

“What’s the other part?” Sam asked.

“Training with Dean has given me ample opportunity to keep my professional skills sharp. Before being assigned to him, I would spend free afternoons in whatever library the castle I was at had. Coming here was a dream come true; I won’t have much free time, I know, but Prince Gabriel’s library is the best in Eden, even better than the king’s.” Castiel had been teased by his fellow squires and soldiers-in-training far too often for his love of learning to be comfortable with having to explain himself to anyone, but somehow, he had a feeling that Sam wouldn’t judge him too harshly for it. “It won’t interfere with my service to Dean, your highness.”

“Sam. Whatever circumstances you’re allowed to be informal with Dean, you’re allowed to be informal with me. I’m sure you’ve noticed that Dean and I are close, no sense in making things awkward by standing on ceremony. It’s actually been a kind of weird week, I’ve barely seen him, but we’ve both been busy settling in, I suppose.” Sam flashed a quick smile, and Castiel relaxed. “What kinds of things do you like to read?”

“Astrology, like I mentioned earlier.” Castiel thought for a bit. “Keep in mind that at many of the places I’ve served, the library consists of a Bible, two or three writings of saints about the Bible, and no more than five other books. I’ll read whatever I can get, but I suppose I enjoy philosophy and history best.”

“In that case, here. I can share.” Sam shoved the stack of books so that it was in between the two of them. “It’s mostly history, there’s one law book in there I think.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be reading them?” Castiel asked, though he reached out and took a book anyway. He just picked up whichever was on top, which turned out to be a look at Gehennan military tactics in the war against Eden. Useful for them both, he decided.

Sam smothered a laugh, not that there was anyone else in the library to disturb. “I can’t read them all at once, so unless you’re a very slow reader, you shouldn’t interfere with my ability to get through things.”

Hours later, Dean came into the library. “Sammy, have you… oh, there you are, Cas. Hey.”

Castiel took the card Sam held out to him and marked his page, noting the title so he could find it next time Dean sent him off. “Hello, Dean.”

Dean looked at the stack of books and papers between the two. “Have you been here this whole time?”

“Yes. If you choose to do this again, this would be a good place to begin looking for me when you’re ready for me to come back to work,” Castiel suggested as he stood up.

“Where did King Michael find the world’s only soldier who studies voluntarily?” Dean asked in mock despair.

Castiel shrugged. “I doubt I’m the _only_ one. And the king was just grateful to have a suitable task for me, he finds it difficult to know what to do with me.”

“Why’s that? It’s not for lack of skill, you’re good,” Dean said.

“Because…” Castiel looked around, deciding whether he could trust the princes with this. “I’m not acknowledged, and I won’t be, except privately. Prince Gabriel is my father. Princess Kali is not my mother.”

“So on the one hand, you’re his nephew, he doesn’t want you stuck on crap jobs, but on the other hand, he doesn’t want to have to explain why you’re getting special treatment if he tries to protect you,” Dean reasoned. “That’s always a tricky situation. Why won’t you ever be acknowledged?”

“Princess Kali doesn’t want there to be any threat to her sons,” Castiel said. “My mother is a minor noblewoman who served as a companion for the princess, but when she became pregnant, her father married her to a lord who didn’t mind raising a bastard as his own. He had two sons from his first wife, so he didn’t care. Lord Novak was quite good to me and officially claims me as his son. Thankfully I resemble my mother quite closely.”

“Better than a lot of unacknowledged children end up with,” Dean said. “That explains where you got the love of books from, too.”


	3. Growing Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three years pass while Dean prepares to go to war. Cas is given an unexpected choice.

For three years, all went well. Dean and Castiel were often gone on training missions, occasionally to real battles, but when they were at the castle, they both spent as much time as they could with Sam. There were times when they both thought Sam was acting a little strange, and eventually Castiel noticed a pattern. The closer he or Dean came to serious injury or death, the more clingy Sam would be when they got back.

He mentioned this to Dean, and Dean just shrugged. “Sammy’s always been kind of… prescient is nowhere near the right word. But this happened when Mom or Dad was hurt, too. Sam would somehow get this sense that something was wrong, and he wouldn’t be properly happy again until he knew that everyone he cares for is safe.”

“That explains why you set him off,” Castiel said. “But last time, I got there in time and you were never in any danger, it was me who fell into that trap.”

For some reason, Dean found that amusing. “Not laughing at you falling in, although when we pulled you out you were so mud-covered you looked like some kind of swamp thing. Cas, think about the kinds of children who tend to hang out in castles. Sam had a few friends, but no one who would sit in the library with him for hours at a time, who he could actually hold discussions about what they were reading with. He’d be devastated if anything happened to you.”

Castiel supposed he should have thought of that. “I see.”

“Actually, speaking of Sam and you…” Dean started. Castiel got incredibly nervous. He had never denied the feelings he was developing to himself, but he thought he had at least kept them to himself. “Be careful, okay? Sam is… he’s a romantic in a lot of ways. He still believes in finding love, and I’d kind of like to keep it that way as long as I can.”

So Dean knew. Although Castiel wasn’t quite ready to call it love. “I thought I had been,” he said, looking down at the road they were following.

“Look, I’m not saying not to spend time with him or anything like that, your friendship means a lot to you both, and to me,” Dean said. “Just… don’t give him false expectations or hope, okay?”

“I… what?” Cas said, looking over at Dean. He didn’t understand how he was supposed to do that. This was not the lecture he’d expected, not that he needed it.

“You know, let him think he has a chance with you if he doesn’t. You’ve done fine so far, this isn’t meant as an accusation of you toying with my brother, I just worry about him.”

Castiel relaxed a bit. If he’d done fine, then Dean didn’t know. Something was bothering him, and he finally figured it out. “If he doesn’t? So if he does…”

Dean actually broke into a huge smile at that. “If he does, then what on Earth are you waiting for? If it’s because of his age, sixteen is old enough in both Kansas and Eden, you know.”

“It’s because when we take back Kansas for you next year, he’s first in line to the throne,” Castiel pointed out. “There are… qualifications. That I don’t meet.”

Dean reached over and swatted Castiel’s head. “Your mother didn’t exactly meet qualifications, did she?”

“I’ve never asked, but as far as I know, that was a one-time affair,” Castiel said. “For a long-term lover, the qualifications are much stricter, you know that perfectly well. It’s one thing to take a kitchen girl into your bed for the night, but can you imagine the uproar if you installed that girl as your mistress? Quite aside from my relatively low birth, I’m not even Kansan. And I’ve had quite enough of being someone’s dirty secret, thank you.”

“Okay, official story is that your father is… what, a count?” Castiel nodded. “Can’t expect you’re gonna have Sam’s kids, so it’s not like that’s an issue. Sam won’t care, I don’t care, any of my nobles start complaining there are several instances I can point to where the king had someone of lesser blood than a count’s younger son. Yeah, he’s first in line now, but first thing I’m going to do when I get my throne back is find a queen. God willing, he won’t be first in line long.” Dean thought for a moment. “Or we avoid the issue altogether and I reward you for your faithful service as my guard and companion with a sufficiently high title of your own.”

Despite Dean’s reassurances, Castiel didn’t feel comfortable talking to Sam. At least not until Dean could make those promises from the position of a king. Things would probably look very different then. Anyway, while he would be riding with Dean’s army, once the land was secured, he expected to be obliged to return to his own land and king. He kept up the caution about revealing his own feelings, and deflected as quickly as he could when Sam started showing any thoughts in that direction.

 

Dean’s army was gathering in the west, a mixture of Kansan lords that Dean had managed to get word to and their men, and Edenite soldiers on loan from Michael. Soon, he and Sam would ride out to reclaim their home. Castiel was called to an audience with Prince Gabriel, he assumed to receive instructions for after the war. When he returned, he was in shock, trying to wrap his head around things.

“What’d he want?” Dean asked as Castiel settled into a chair.

“Your time here is coming to an end. Prince Gabriel wished to discuss what is to be done with me once you’re enthroned.”

Sam closed his book and set it aside. “I guess we can’t avoid thinking about it anymore, can we. What did he have to say?” Castiel didn’t answer right away, taking a moment to look at Sam. “Cas?”

Castiel startled, having gotten lost in thought. He rose, drawing his sword, and knelt before Dean with the sword held in an offer. “His Majesty King Michael of Eden has conditionally released me from my vow of fealty. I offer my sword to Kansas, to serve in whatever manner her king sees fit.”

Dean exchanged a quick glance with Sam, both of them clearly as surprised by this as Cas had been. Dean recovered quickly though, reaching out to take the hilt of Castiel’s sword. “I accept your oath, Sir Castiel. If you put the same diligence into everything that you’ve shown in guarding me these past three years, you will be a great asset to Kansas.” He released the sword, relaxing a little and clapping Cas on the shoulder. “We’ll do this right once I’m actually king and all, and I have a better idea what to do with you. Once I learn which of my lords haven’t arrived from cowardice and which haven’t arrived because they’ve changed their loyalties. This doesn’t change anything about our arrangement, though, I’m still just Dean to you. Unless we have to put on a show.”

Castiel got to his feet. “I never expected this. The condition on my release was that I could only do this or return my fealty to the king of Eden. I think the intent was to give you a gift, but King Michael didn’t exactly feel comfortable gifting a noble’s son like that.”

“Well, whatever his reasons, I’m glad he gave you the chance and that you chose Dean,” Sam said. “And I’m still Sam. So you get to stay in Kansas with us? Dean, we owe King Michael so much.”

“Don’t I know it,” Dean said. “Eden’s always been good to Kansas, though. I’m curious what he’s going to ask of us to pay the debt. It’s not like we wouldn’t have kept up a strong presence against Gehenna anyway, not after they did this. Kind of a shame Michael doesn’t have a daughter.”

“Dean!” Sam snapped before Castiel could say anything.

Dean looked at Sam in confusion. “What? A king needs a queen, don’t you think an Edenite princess would be a good choice?”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry, Dean,” Sam said.

The three were interrupted by a knock on the door. A servant came in and bowed. “Your highnesses, I beg your pardon for the intrusion. A Gehennan army was spotted heading this way, and His Highness Gabriel requires your presence at a war council.”

“How far?” Dean asked, already on his way toward the door.

“We expect them to reach Asgard tomorrow.”

Dean swore. “How are we just learning about them now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, this chapter is basically setup. There's still a LOT more to go after this.


	4. Throwing Rocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gehennans attack and Sam's life changes drastically as a result.

Sam woke up in a cold sweat. “Just a dream,” he told himself over and over as he pulled on his armor and armed himself. “Just a dream,” he said one last time before entering Dean’s tent.

Dean looked up from the map he and his captains were looking at. “There you are, I was just about to send someone to get you up. Are you sure you want to be here?” He looked hard at Sam. “You look terrible. Nightmare?”

“I’m fine,” Sam snapped, not wanted to explain anything to Dean, especially in front of the others in the room. “Where do you want me?”

Dean chuckled. “Back at the castle where you’ll be safe. But you won’t go, so, I’m keeping you close. You’re part of my squad.”

Sam was both relieved and anxious about that. “Don’t get yourself killed because you’re worried about me, or I will come back and haunt you. Cas’s job is hard enough without him having to watch me too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean said. “We’re defending the town. In Lawrence, a detachment of Gehennans split off from the main army and slipped around the flank to burn the town. I’m not repaying Prince Gabriel’s hospitality by losing Asgard to the same tactics. Rufus, line’s centered on you, you’re in charge of making sure it holds. Caleb, Tara, tell your men to keep an eye out for that strike team, I would love to have a boring job.”

“Yes, your highness,” Rufus said with a sharp salute.

 

Dean’s caution was well-advised. A small group of Gehennan soldiers managed to slip through. One of Dean’s squad signaled that he had spotted them. Sam ran toward the caller, but was stricken by a strong sense of déjà vu. His eyes went wide as he looked around, and he took off at a sprint. He cut through alleys, not worrying about getting lost. He knew the way.

His heart sank as he emerged in the square. On the other side, Castiel was fighting two Gehennan soldiers, and Dean was nowhere in sight. Castiel’s arm was dripping blood, and the attackers had him backed against a wall. One drew his arm back for what Sam knew would be the fatal stab.

“CAS!” Sam shouted, throwing out a hand in desperation. As his hand went forward, so did two loose cobbles. The Gehennans had hesitated at the shout, which proved to be a mistake. A cobble struck each of them in the head, crushing the skull, dropping two corpses. For a long moment, Castiel and Sam just stared at each other across the square.

Cas was the first to recover himself. He jogged over to Sam, giving him a shake. “Come on, we need to find Dean.”

Sam still couldn’t move, not even to drop the hand he had outstretched. “Cas, what just happened?”

“You saved my life,” Cas said, pushing Sam’s hand back to his side. “Now get moving!”

They caught up to Dean just outside of town, surrounded by the squad and several Gehennan bodies, and a couple prisoners. Several of the soldiers had minor wounds, but there were none dead, and their part of the battle was over. Dean breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them. “Thank God, there you two are. How’s your arm, Cas?”

“I’ll be grateful when I have a chance to get to a healer, but it won’t kill me, and I can still use the arm and hand, your highness,” Cas said.

“All right. Those of you who are still in fighting shape, if you want to go to the main battle, head for Tara’s group. These guys got around the right flank which makes me think Tara could use the help. The rest of you, we’re headed back to camp, let’s move.” About half the soldiers headed to the battle.

It wasn’t much later that word from the front came back that the Gehennans were retreating. Dean congratulated his captains when they returned to give their reports, then left them to arrange the victory celebration while he reported back to Gabriel.

 

While Dean reported, Sam went to find Bobby. The two of them met Dean as he came out of the throne room, and Sam caught his arm. “I need to talk to you. Without a crowd listening in.”

Dean nodded. “No problem. Do I need to tell Cas to wait outside?”

“No, Cas is… he was there for some of this, he deserves to know what’s going on,” Sam said, and he caught Castiel shaking his head. “I asked Bobby to come too, we’ll probably need his counsel.”

Dean led them to his chambers. “What’s going on, Sammy?”

Sam had been so careful to keep this secret for years, so he wasn’t quite sure where to start. He decided to start at the beginning, even though Dean knew that part. “You know how I always seem to know when someone I love gets hurt?”

“Yeah, it used to scare me when you got upset, because I knew you had cause,” Dean said.

“When I was little, that’s all it was. I just knew. But it changed. A couple of nights before Lawrence burned, I dreamed that Lawrence had been attacked by Gehennans and they torched the town. I dismissed it as a nightmare-prone kid getting spooked by the quick Gehennan advance, but… then it happened. After we came here, when you or, eventually, Cas came back wounded… every single time, the story you told me matched up with a dream I’d had while you were gone,” Sam said, grateful that Dean hadn’t interrupted again.

“You can see the future?” Dean asked carefully.

Sam thought about how to answer that. “I can’t control it, I don’t get in bed intending to have a vision dream, but, yeah, some of my dreams come true. And I can usually tell which ones, they’re more… they’re clearer, less jumbled, and they stay in my memory when I wake up.”

Dean waggled his eyebrows. “So, you said Cas was there…”

Sam cut him off with a glare. It wasn’t that Sam would have minded Cas being there, but Cas had made it pretty clear he wasn’t interested. “Last night, I had a vision dream. I was running through alleys, knowing something terrible was about to happen, and then I saw Cas. Bleeding, with his back to a wall, and two Gehennans on him. One drew back and I… I watched Cas die,” he finished barely above a whisper.

“Cas? You’re dead? That’s the kind of thing you report to me,” Dean said.

Cas gave him an unamused look. “I would be, if it weren’t for Sam’s intervention. I don’t think I said it before, Sam, so thank you. I owe you my life.”

Sam gave a fleeting smile, but he had to explain. “This morning, I was responding to the signal when I suddenly realized I was in my dream. I ran as hard as I could, I had to at least try to save him. But I was too late.”

“Once again, Cas… are you dead?” Dean asked, though he was starting to look very confused.

“No, he’s not, because I found a new way to be a freak,” Sam said. “I threw a couple rocks and killed the Gehennans before they could kill Cas.”

Dean was now even more confused, but not too confused to tease his little brother. “Not exactly a princely weapon.”

“Dean, this isn’t funny,” Sam snapped. “I didn’t exactly _throw_ the rocks. I threw out my hand, trying to make them think I was throwing something, and the rocks when flying.”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah, Sam, that’s how…”

“They weren’t in my hand. They were in the square,” Sam clarified.

Dean didn’t have a joke for that. He looked over at Cas. “Admittedly, I was a bit distracted, but that’s exactly what I thought I saw. That’s why I didn’t report this; I have no right to tell anyone something that I figured Sam would want to keep from others. Both rocks flew at once, there is no way Sam could have thrown them both that quickly and accurately.”

“Bobby? Thoughts?” Dean asked.

“You do hear about people who do things that they can’t explain, and I seem to recall that Lord Samuel Campbell’s mother drew whispers that she was uncanny. It’s best to keep this quiet, nobody quite knows what to do with, with people with powers,” Bobby said slowly.

“Freaks,” Sam corrected, though he appreciated Bobby’s kindness.

Cas got up and went to stand in front of Sam, putting a hand on each shoulder. Sam looked up at him. “You are not a freak. You are a good man, a devoted brother, a loyal prince, a selfless friend. Anyone who can put your powers above your character is a fool. No one here is a fool, are they?”

Dean cleared his throat. “Cas, can we trust Prince Gabriel?”

“Yes, we can, Prince Gabriel is quite fond of Sam, he won’t cause problems,” Cas said, turning his head without letting go of Sam. “There is the problem of finding a way to speak to him without alerting anyone else.”

Dean nodded. “Then this stays in this room, unless something else comes up that means we’ll need his help. Sammy, any ideas on limits?”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t even know how it happened. It just… Cas was gonna die, and I was just hoping I could distract them long enough for him to do something.”

“Try it now,” Cas said, taking a step away to look around the room. “That rock on the table, try to move it.”

Sam looked at the rock, willing it to move across the room. Nothing happened. He threw out a hand like he had in the square. Nothing happened. “It’s not working. Cas, any ideas?”

“No. As I said, I was a little distracted,” Cas said.

Dean had recovered his ability to joke. “I could hold a sword to Cas…”

Sam glared, and Cas shook his head. “Sam killed the last person to do that. As your guard, I would have to try to save you, which could well result in my death. I believe we can guess how Sam would feel if he killed either of us.”

“Fratricide’s a long historied tradition for younger sons, you know,” Dean said.

Sam wanted to slap him, but Bobby finally intervened. “Just shut up, it ain’t funny,” he snapped.

“It’s a little funny,” Dean protested, but no one else agreed.


	5. Things Go Awry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam's newfound powers don't stay secret for long, and Michael is kind of a dick.

A few days later, the castle was abuzz at the imminent semi-expected arrival of the king. They hadn’t expected him for another week and a half, so the servants were scurrying to make everything as ready as they could get it. Once Michael arrived, the first thing he did was to shut himself in the throne room with only his brother, and then to summon the Kansan princes.

Dean didn’t think he’d ever seen Prince Gabriel look like that. He’d seen Gabriel angry, which he was now, and he’d seen Gabriel sad, which he was now, but he’d never seen him defeated, which he was now.

Michael didn’t look much better – he was trying to look completely stoic, but Dean could see the anger and disappointment behind it. Still, his voice was pure formality when he spoke. “Prince Dean, I understand the time draws near when you will be leaving us.”

“Yes, we set out in two weeks, Your Majesty,” Dean said. Michael knew that perfectly well, since that was the original reason for his visit. There had to be something terrible happening that brought him up early, to have the Edenite royalty looking like this.

“If those who fight under your banner do as well as I’m told they did in the ambush on Asgard, you should do quite well. I wish you good fortune and godspeed the king of Kansas.” He paused before turning his attention to Castiel. “Sir Castiel, have you made your decision?”

Castiel knelt. “I have, your majesty. I’m sworn to the service of Kansas and her king.”

“I thought you might be,” Michael said, and for a minute a strange smile of amusement and regret crossed his face. “I truly regret that I have to do this now.” He paused again, schooling his features as best he could. “Prince Samuel. It has come to my attention that you have… shall we say… abilities. Dreams that come true, and moving objects with your mind. How do you respond?”

“Don’t answer that, Sam,” Dean said, stepping forward. “How do you come by this information, your majesty?”

“My servant, Zachariah, was here to bring me a report of your battle. He also reported a conversation between the two of you, your guard, and your tutor,” Michael said. Well, that explained why Gabriel was angry.

“He spied on them, you mean,” Gabriel snapped. “In _my_ home, where I had given these princes my word that they would be kept safe and treated with all due respect and honor.”

Michael sounded a bit weary as he turned his head to shoot a warning glare at his brother. “And he will be punished accordingly. But despite the method in which I learned of this, I cannot just ignore it.”

Castiel rose and moved to stand beside Sam. “We set out in two weeks, your majesty! Until then, Sam has taken no oaths to you, yet he’s fulfilled everything you’ve ever asked of him. Why do this now?”

Michael’s anger became more evident. “You’ve grown bold, Castiel, to address a king so in his own land.”

“Don’t bother, Castiel,” Gabriel said. “When it comes to this, my brother loses all sense of justice or mercy. He can’t be reasoned with, and he has no heart to appeal to.”

Michael didn’t bother to answer Castiel’s question, despite Dean thinking it was a perfectly fair one. “Samuel, do you deny these charges?”

“No, your majesty,” Sam said. What else was there to say?

Dean might have shut Sam up again if he’d known what was coming. Michael rose to his feet. “Then I proclaim you abomination, and I cast you from Eden. You will be granted three days’ grace, after which you, or anyone found giving you aid or comfort, shall be executed if found within my borders.” He sat back down, and Dean could almost believe the regret in Michael’s face when he added, “Dean, I am truly sorry that this happened now. I know well the pain of losing someone you believed family, but he was never human, and you are better off without him.”

Dean’s own fury barely let him speak, but this was one of the things a king had to learn to do. He knew the smart thing was to accept that this had happened and find a way to keep Sam safe until Dean could get him to Kansas, where he sure as hell was not going to make Sam an outlaw. But he couldn’t do it. He looked into the face of the man he had admired and trusted, to whom he had been so grateful. “Your Majesty, you took me in when I was in need, allowed me to gather what Kansans I could find to begin to form an army to retake my home. A lesser king might have feared that I would turn that army against him. My father always spoke very highly of you, and the friendship between Eden and Kansas has been long and fruitful. I would hate to see it ruined over so small a matter.”

“As would I,” Michael said. “But I must do this.”

 

After Michael left, Gabriel told the court to continue to wait outside. “Dean, Castiel, nice try, but you never had a chance. He exiled his own daughter on the word of a rejected suitor. That oily snake Zachariah is one of Michael’s favorites.”

“What do we do?” Sam asked. “I won’t stay here and put your people in danger, your highness.”

“Of course you won’t, you’re far too self-sacrificing,” Gabriel said, but he actually looked a little better. “There’s a village, just this side of the border where Kansas meets Gehenna. It’s far enough from any part of the war that it’s not worth attacking, if the Gehennans even know about it. Sam, you won’t be putting the villagers in any danger, the village leader is my niece. Anna. It’s a haven for people like you and those who love them enough to leave their lives behind.”

“So I take Sam there, Caleb or Rufus can handle the march to the border as well as I could, and I meet them there. Sam, it’s up to you whether you want to stay there or come with me, but I want you safe so I’m not distracted,” Dean said.

The original plan had been for Sam to stay with Bobby and Gabriel until Dean had enough hold in Kansas for him to send for Sam. Sam didn’t begrudge that; he’d joined the battle in Asgard because the army was still gathering and every blade was needed. Staying in this haven made sense… “You’re assuming the princess won’t decide that having a prince in camp is too likely to draw the notice of either Eden or Gehenna and refuse to let me stay. But we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Fair enough,” Dean said. “Cas, I’m assuming you’ll want to come with me and Sam, but I won’t make it an order or even a request. You have the choice of keeping yourself safe and marching with the army.”

Cas glared at Dean, surprising Sam with the intensity of it. “Sam saved my life, which led directly to his shame and exile. How can you think I would consider repaying that by abandoning him like a coward?”

“Thought you’d say that,” Dean said. “Your highness…”

“Gabriel,” he said. “After what my fool of a brother and his flunky did to you in my home, you and Sam earned that. Castiel…”

“I understand, Father,” Castiel said. Sam looked between the two. He’d never heard Gabriel acknowledge anything. “It’s been a real pleasure living here the past three years, and I’m grateful to you for doing what you could for me.”

“I just wish I could do more. Your brothers would have benefited by your example,” Gabriel said. “Sam, Dean, I take it Castiel told you the secret. Take care of my son, do you understand?”

“We understand,” Dean said. “Gabriel, the plan was for Bobby and Ellen to stay here…”

“They’re still welcome,” Gabriel said. “It’s not me driving you out of here like you’ve done something to be ashamed of instead of sending you off with honor.”

Dean nodded. “I had to give the king credit, given that I was kind of threatening him and I still need the army he’s sending with me, but Sam and I both know that it was you who did everything for us, and that it’s Michael who’s causing this problem. Thank you for everything.”

 

Dean came out from packing up what he was taking, and looked at Cas in surprise. “You’re still here?”

“Until you give me new orders, I am still your guard,” Castiel pointed out. “This is where I’ve always slept. Where else would I be?”

“Just thought… everything’s gone to hell, who knows when we’ll all have a night of safety again. Figured you’d be with Sam,” Dean said.

“Dean…” Castiel said, sitting on the bedroll by the door. “I wish I could, you know that. I should have after Asgard.”

“Why the hell didn’t you?” Dean asked. “Not that I understand your reason for not doing it earlier, but you and I both know he wants you there as much as you want to be there.”

“I… it’s stupid,” Cas said, not able to bring himself to look Dean in the eyes. “You and I both know he thinks I have no interest and I’m just trying to be nice by deflecting any time he tries to push, and I thought… I was afraid he’d think I was trying to repay him for saving me. That he wouldn’t believe I’ve wanted him for a long time.”

Dean’s face scrunched up. “Hadn’t thought of it like that. You probably have a point there. So why not tonight?”

“Like you said, it’s our last night of safety for months, potentially a year or more,” Cas said. “I know for some people the ‘last night’ thing pushes them together, but I don’t want one night with Sam. And… even if Anna’s village does turn out to be safe for him, he’ll still be alone there. If one of us is hurt or killed, we can’t be there for him when he sees it in a vision dream. It’s going to be hard enough to ride away; I’m not sure I could if I went to him tonight.”

“I… guess that makes sense,” Dean said. “But after this war, I will kick your ass if you come up with some other stupid excuse, understand?”


	6. Frying Pan to Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam runs away. No one is surprised when he only finds himself in more trouble.

Gabriel had given them horses and provisions. It was still a four-day ride to the village, and on the fourth day, a band of soldiers caught them. The three urged their horses to a full gallop, but an arrow still took Dean in the back, and he fell, dead.

Sam sat up in bed, breathing hard as he calmed himself down. He couldn’t let Dean and Cas die for him. Dean would never like Michael, even if he did force himself to keep up the friendship between the two countries for the sake of history and the future. But there was no reason to risk his life, especially since Sam knew it wasn’t just a risk, it was what would happen. And Castiel… if he was ever going to change his mind, last night was the time. It was all good and well for him to insist on coming when Dean was with him, but Cas would never agree to leave without even telling Dean. He was nothing if not dutiful.

He slipped out in the hour before sunrise, heading north toward the border with Gehenna. He knew Gabriel intended to give them horses, but it still felt like stealing for him to take the one meant for him, and he’d have an easier time hiding himself on foot. Once he crossed the border, he turned east to head toward Kansas.

On his third day out, he spotted an Edenite camp. He briefly considered trying to join them – he wasn’t in Eden and was still within his three days’ grace – but decided against it. He was so committed to staying out of sight of the camp that he forgot to be alert for other threats, and he was jumped by a Gehennan patrol.

“What do we have here?” the patrol leader said, looking Sam over as one of his men bound Sam’s arms. “An Edenite deserter? No, those aren’t a soldier’s clothes. Whoever he is, I bet we could get a pretty ransom for him.” They took him to their sergeant, who took him to her captain, who ordered him taken to Acheron to be brought before Lucifer, King of Gehenna.

Lucifer leaned forward in delight when the guards brought Sam in. “Three years, you and your brother are untouchable, and then Prince Samuel of Kansas walks into my kingdom, unescorted, only lightly armed, and avoiding Edenites. So let me guess – that fool Michael discovered that you have supernatural abilities and threw you out of his lands. You didn’t want to risk anyone, so you snuck off alone.” Sam kept silent. Everyone knew Lucifer was good at honeying his words, but would turn on you the second it became practical. “Idiot. Here in Gehenna, we honor those with an edge.”

Lucifer motioned to the guards to get Sam to his feet. He came closer, walking around, looking closely at Sam. It made Sam very uncomfortable and afraid. “You are a very handsome lad, Sam. You do prefer Sam, don’t you? How old are you?”

Sam briefly considered claiming to be underage, but who knew if Lucifer would even care. “Seventeen.”

“Five years,” Lucifer said. “If you were five years older, you would be king instead of Dean. Have you ever resented that?”

“No.” He never had. He’d always been content to be at Dean’s side, in his shadow. “Dean is the far better choice for the job anyway.”

“Very commendable of you, Sam,” Lucifer said. “My own family has been the victim of a bit too excessive ambition, I think. I had to kill my only brother, self-defense of course. None of my own children lived past the age of six. Right now, when I die, there will be quite the vacuum. I can’t leave it like that.”

Sam blinked. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, it’s no secret,” Lucifer said with a smirk. “Right now, the likely victor will be one of my wife’s nephews. Azazel has already shown himself to be a somewhat inept ruler, and Crowley… there’s something about that lad that makes my skin crawl. My niece Ruby would be terrible. She’d be the puppet of whoever pulled her strings.”

“Again… what does this have to do with me?” Sam asked. Not that he was looking forward to being put in a dungeon until Dean had secured Kansas and was able to come ransom him, but it would be better than listening to Lucifer talk about politics that he was just as happy to leave unresolved.

Lucifer reached out, putting a gentle hand on Sam’s jaw. “I have a proposal for you. I need an heir, one who isn’t incompetent. You’re of royal blood, it would be the least bloody transition to a new ruling house I can imagine. I will recall Azazel, give Dean free return to Kansas. Between us, I never commanded or suggested that Azazel do anything to your homeland, Kansas and Gehenna have never been the best of neighbors but your father was wise enough to not poke a hornets’ nest. Making you my heir will, I trust, go a long way toward preventing your brother from taking revenge?” Sam scoffed, but Lucifer had a point. “I think it’s a good time for a shift of tactics, perhaps not throwing ourselves at Prince Gabriel’s line but coming in from another angle, don’t you? As for your precious knight, what’s his name, Castiel… I can’t guarantee his safety if he enters a battle, but I can tell my troops that he is to be spared and taken alive if at all possible.”

“You have to want more than just an heir,” Sam spat. “There’s more to this.”

“No, an heir is all I want,” Lucifer said. “Of course, an heir with _powers_ … that would be a far better deal. My sister-in-law, Rowena, is a witch of no small skill. If you say yes, you can work with her to train and develop those powers. Out of curiosity, what is it you can do?”

“I’m not telling you,” Sam said. “I will _never_ say yes to this.” The bad feeling he’d had from Eden’s offer had come back with friends, and he knew that this is what it had been trying to warn him of then.

“Oh, I think you will,” Lucifer said. “By this time next week, I think you’ll have said yes to me.” He motioned to the guards, who took him to the dungeons.


	7. The Haven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas discover Sam's absence and have to decide what to do about it.

The servant was cringing as she returned to Dean’s chamber. “M’lord, I couldn’t find the prince. He wasn’t in his bed, nor in the library.”

Dean didn’t even acknowledge her as he tore out of the room, going to look for himself. Sure enough, Sam wasn’t in his chamber. Cas was right behind him. “Dean… his pack is gone,” Castiel said, and Dean looked. Sure enough.

“Dammit, _why_ , Sam?” Dean shouted, slamming his hands against the wall.

Castiel looked at the bed, at the way the blankets were tangled. “Vision dream. He was already unhappy with the thought of us risking our lives for him, if he’d seen one or both of us die…”

“You should’ve been here, Cas. We should’ve seen this _coming_!” Dean turned around, sagging back against the wall. “Why didn’t we see this coming?”

“I don’t know. You’re absolutely right, we should have, but we didn’t. But what’s done is done.” Cas reached out, pulling Dean up and toward the door. “You can beat me up later for letting this happen because of my weakness, but right now, we need to decide what to do.”

“What do you mean, decide what to do? We go after him!” Dean said. “Someone has to have seen something when he left, or there should be tracks, my brother’s no woodsman. What else is there to do?”

Castiel closed his eyes briefly. “Dean, you are about to lead a war to become a king. Pull yourself together and act like one.” He didn’t bother ducking the punch Dean threw, despite knowing it was coming. He deserved it; this was his fault. “Sam would want to get out of Eden, to make sure no one got in trouble for helping him if they didn’t know he’d been cast out. The fastest way is to head north to Gehenna.”

Dean took a couple of deep breaths, calming himself. “And as my guard, you’re obliged to point out that I cannot be caught in Gehenna and that while you’ll do your best to keep me safe, we have to sleep sometime. Okay. We can’t chase Sam.”

“I hate to say it, but as you say, Sam is no woodsman. In all likelihood, he’ll be captured. If, by some miracle, he isn’t, he would be heading to Kansas to meet up with you, or to Anna’s haven. If he’s going to Kansas, he would probably still go by the haven to ask if they’d heard anything about your army.”

“So what you’re saying is, we should go to the haven,” Dean said.

“Even if Sam doesn’t go there, or has been captured… Anna may have someone there who has a power that can help us,” Castiel pointed out. “Not all people with powers have the same powers. Maybe one of them can… locate people, or look into the past, or something helpful.”

Dean rubbed his hand down his face. “It’s killing me to think of Sam trying to get through Gehenna alone, but you’re right. We can’t help him there. We need to go to Haven.”

 

They got to the haven four days later. Anna was waiting at a path that seemed to lead nowhere. “Prince Dean. Sir Castiel.”

Castiel dismounted and knelt. “Princess Anna.”

“Not anymore, my father threw me out, remember?” Anna said. “Get up and follow me.” She led them down the path, and a village shimmered into existence around them. “I know you’re here on very important business, but it can wait a bit.”

“My brother…” Dean started.

“Can either wait ten minutes or you don’t need my help after all,” Anna said firmly. She led them to a house, where a young woman lay on a bed, blood dripping from her nose and ears. Anna knelt beside her, reaching out to take her hand. “Rachel, are you all right?”

Rachel nodded weakly. “I’ll need about a week to recover, Lady Anna, but I will recover.”

“Thank you. Our community is far stronger for having you in it,” Anna said.

“Yeah yeah, if it weren’t for me we might not have a community at all, you say this every time, Lady Anna. Don’t worry about me. Deal with our visitors,” Rachel said, laying her head back into the pillow and closing her eyes.

Anna led them back out of the house. “Rachel was one of the first people I found when I was wandering. She helped me build this village, and uses her power to help protect us. You saw what it cost her to shield us. So don’t lecture me about how important your task is; my task is to take care of my people, and you’re in _my_ village.” She led them to the large hall at the center of the village, and into a room with a table and a map. “Now. What brings the two of you here?”

“You don’t know?” Dean said.

“My lady, please forgive the prince’s rudeness,” Castiel said, glaring at Dean. “His brother has powers, and the king learned of them.”

Anna’s face went sympathetic. “Where is he? We can shelter him until he has a safe place to go.”

“Gehenna, we think,” Dean said. “We were going bring him here, but he ran away. We think he may be trying to loop around and get here while being in Eden as little as possible.”

“Even if he isn’t heading here, we hoped that maybe one of your people had a power that would be able to help us,” Castiel added. “To help Sam.”

“There’s a couple who might be able to,” Anna said thoughtfully. “The problem is, and I’m sure you’ve noticed this with your brother, their powers are inconsistent, or uncontrollable, or come with a terrible cost for using them. We knew you were coming because Ava saw it in a dream. That’s why I hid the village from you; Ava’s dreams are always some sort of very significant event, and can be good or bad. I didn’t know which it was. To be honest, I still don’t, but I do know that your intentions are good at least. She may have dreamt again last night, or will tonight, something that would help you.” Anna thought for a bit. “Most of their powers are something physical like throwing things with their mind, or mental like reading minds. Not the kind of thing that would be useful for finding someone. Pamela might be able to help if we can narrow this down, she can use her sight to look at places far away, but she’d need to know where to look. The longer she’s focused on somewhere else, the longer it takes her sight to come back here. I can’t ask her to search all of Gehenna.”

“No,” Castiel agreed. “And any of your mind readers or whatever are too limited in range, I would imagine.”

“Exactly,” Anna said. “Their powers come with costs.”

Dean cleared his throat. “You keep saying their powers. Aren’t you…?”

Anna laughed. “I’m supposed to be, that’s the rumor and the reason I’m here! But if I have powers, I’ve never been able to make them do anything. I don’t know what they are.”

“You may not have had strong enough cause,” Castiel said. “Sam knew of his vision dreams, but he only discovered his ability to move things with his mind when it was the only way he could save my life. Even knowing he had that power, he hasn’t been able to make it work again.”

“Huh,” Anna said. “Yeah, that’s the inconsistency. Training can help with that, or with learning to minimize or manage the costs, but a lot of my people are just as happy to forget they ever developed their powers. Come on, Ava’s your best chance, or we can figure out how far Prince Sam could have made it on foot in the amount of time he’s been gone and try to guess where he might be.”

Anna took them to a cottage. Just as she was about to knock the door opened. The woman gasped. When she caught her breath, she said, “Lady Anna! I was just on my way to see you. I had another dream last night.” She shot a fearful look at the two men with Anna.

Anna noticed. “These are the two men you saw coming here. They’re looking for their brother, another one of Michael’s outcasts, and thought he might have come here.”

“Your brother… tall, long brown hair, eyes that change color depending on the light and angle?” Ava said.

“That’s him,” Dean said eagerly. “Your dream?”

Ava flinched. “Remember, I’m just the seer, I don’t create these situations. A man of that description was caught by a Gehennan patrol and taken to King Lucifer. Is your brother someone important?”

Dean stared at her. Anna stepped in. “Ava, this is Prince Dean of Kansas, and his companion Sir Castiel. They’re looking for Prince Dean’s brother.”

“Oh!” Anna dropped into a deep curtsy. “I’m sorry, your highness, we don’t get much news out here, we avoid strangers, you understand.”

“Missouri is the one who identified you. Ava’s reasonably skilled with a pencil, and if you can get Missouri an image of a person or something closely associated with them, she can identify that person. Sir Castiel, of course, I knew from before my exile,” Anna added.

Dean shook his head. “I don’t understand King Michael. Sam and Ava’s vision dreams, Missouri’s ability to identify people, Pamela seeing places far away… if they were willing to use their skills in defense of their kingdom, think how much stronger that kingdom would be. Instead, Michael throws them out.”

Anna bristled. “And what would your highness do with those who were reluctant to use their powers in defense of their kingdom?”

“Well, as a practical matter, ask them to swear an oath to at least not use them _against_ their kingdom either,” Dean said with a shrug. “I wouldn’t force anyone to use their powers if they want to be left alone, especially now that I know the kinds of costs that go with them.”

“That’s how things work in Gehenna,” Anna said. “If King Lucifer discovers someone with powers, he immediately summons them to him and has them tested and put to use. Anyone found harboring a known person with powers is put to death, along with their family.”

“So he may not know he has a prince,” Castiel said. “Sam may have used his power to try to escape, thus making him worthy of the king’s attention.”

“It’s possible, but I didn’t see anything like that,” Ava said.

“We have to assume the worst – that he knows he has Prince Samuel, and that Sammy has powers,” Dean said. “What would King Lucifer do to him?”

“Certainly not kill him or harm him in any significant way,” Anna said. “Knowing either of them would be enough for that, and we have to assume he knows one or the other, because a random captive from the border with Eden wouldn’t be worth his notice.”

Castiel closed his eyes. “He may try to convince Sam to join him. I don’t know what kind of offer Lucifer would make, but…”

“Sammy has more sense than that,” Dean snapped.

“Until four days ago I would have said that Sam had more sense than to run away alone heading for Gehenna,” Castiel pointed out. “He left because he was afraid for us. If Lucifer promised to restore Kansas to you, and that he would thereafter leave you alone…”

“You can’t trust Lucifer,” Dean snarled. “Sam knows that.”

“It may not be that simple,” Ava said. “One of our guys could get you to ride a pig naked while people threw rotted fruit at you, and you’d be halfway through the fruit line before you even questioned why you were doing it. If King Lucifer has someone like that…”

“Andy’s power doesn’t last long unless he stays in close proximity,” Anna added. “But with the kind of training Lucifer would put him through… or she could go the simpler route of just making Sam want to be with her all the time.”

Castiel was nearly sick at the thought of that. “So, the worst case scenario is that Lucifer has Sam prisoner and Sam doesn’t want to be rescued,” he summarized.

“Yes. I’ll talk to Pamela, ask her to spy on the dungeons for us. You two figure out how you’re going to rescue him.” Anna took off and Dean and Castiel left to find somewhere to sit and talk.

“We have to go to Gabriel,” Dean said. “There’s no way the two of us can do this alone.”

Castiel shook his head. “Advice or supplies, maybe, but if it were as easy as marching an army up to Lucifer’s castle and making demands, Gabriel and King Michael would have done that a long time ago. You’re right, we can’t do this alone, but we have to do this smart.”

“What, gather some of these people and ask them to march into Gehenna, risking capture themselves, to rescue someone they don’t even know?” Dean asked. “Where are you finding people stupid enough to make that deal?”

“It’s smarter than bringing an army,” Castiel said. “We have to try.”

“Okay, the good news: your brother’s in the dungeon,” Anna said from behind them. Both men jumped. “Sorry. The good news: your brother’s in the dungeon. Bad news: he’s in the hands of Lord Alastair. If even half the rumors are true, they may not need powers to get Sam to turn, they can just torture him until he would do anything to make it stop.”

“Lady Anna, this is asking a lot, I know,” Castiel said. “Do you think any of your people would be willing to come with us to help with the rescue?”

Anna chuckled at that. “I like what five years has done to you, Castiel. I’m going. I won’t order any of my people to go. If you want them, you’ll have to ask them, and if I catch you lying to them or withholding important facts…”

“Of course not. Is there a way you can call a… a village meeting or something? That way you know we’ve told them everything, and things don’t get distorted going through the rumor mill,” Dean said. “We’ll give them some time to think it over, but we can’t wait long.”

Anna rang the town bell, and in half an hour, she nodded to Dean. “If they were going to come, they’d be here by now. Go ahead.”

“Does your village have a name?” Dean asked.

Anna shook her head. “We just call it our haven.”

“Okay.” He stepped up on the box and raised his voice. “I came to your haven, hoping to find my brother. King Michael threw him out of Eden, for no more reason than any of you, and he ran without me and our companion Castiel because he didn’t want to put us in danger. Thanks to some of you, we know where my brother is. King Lucifer has him. You all know what happens to people like him, like you, in Gehenna. Castiel and I are going after him, and if any of you would like to come along, we would be indebted to you. You don’t know me, but I am Prince Dean of Kansas. My army is moving to retake Kansas from Gehenna as we speak, and if we’re successful, I will be able to pay that debt and more. I know it’s a big risk, and if none of you are willing to come, I understand.”


	8. Ruby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam gets a visitor in the dungeon. Dean gets volunteers to save his brother.

“Good morning, Sammy,” Alastair purred, banging on the bars of the cell Sam had been stashed in. “Oh, what a special day today is!”

Sam refused to show fear. He’d been in this cell for five days, and he’d had two of Alastair’s special days already. Lucifer wanted Sam to give in, but he refused to allow any permanent damage or lasting marks, so Alastair had to get creative. So far, he’d risen to the challenge admirably. Sam got up and moved to the bars, trying to channel Dean’s confidence. “What’ve you got for me today, then?”

“Oh, it’s not me,” Alastair said. “No, I’m not quite ready with your next session. Tomorrow, mostly likely, the day after at the latest. No, today is special because you have a visitor.”

That didn’t make any sense at all. “Why the hell would anyone come to visit me?” And why would Lucifer allow it?

“Ask her.” A bell rang and Alastair left. When he came back, he was leading a well-dressed woman carrying a box. “Now remember your uncle’s rules about treatment of the prince,” Alastair cautioned her. “Be careful.”

The woman rolled her eyes, looking completely bored. “I know, Alastair. I’m not here to torture him. I just want to talk. Leave us.”

“Your safety…” Alastair began, looking a little shaken.

She turned to glare at him. “I’m a powerful witch and he’s behind bars. I think I can handle one caged prince,” she snapped.

Alastair bowed and backed off. “As you wish, my lady.” He shut the door behind him as he disappeared back to wherever he went when he wasn’t torturing someone.

“Hello, your highness, I’m Lady Ruby MacLeod,” she said, turning back to him and settling herself into a much more pleasant demeanor. “The king is my uncle, and I know the deal he offered you. What I don’t understand is why you’re down here instead of up there.”

“Why should you care? He’s looking to use me to replace you and your brothers,” Sam said.

Ruby laughed a little. “My brothers, yes. You haven’t met them, so you don’t understand. Azazel takes every bad part of the reputation of the kingdom and ramps it up to insanity, without much of the good to temper it. Crowley… the man is the slimiest creature I’ve ever known. He’s the sort who would make a deal with an angel only to drag the angel down to the level of a demon. As for me, well, I think my uncle has other plans for me. I know my mother certainly does.”

“Huh. Well, I don’t trust King Lucifer. Yes, the deal sounds good, but so did going to Eden. I shouldn’t have trusted King Michael, and I’m not going to make that mistake again,” Sam said. “For that matter, I don’t trust you either.”

“You don’t have to,” Ruby said, not phased at all by Sam’s declaration. “I’m just here to make sure that you’re all right, that Alastair’s obeying the rules. And to bring you your breakfast.” She opened the box and slid a bowl through the opening.

Sam looked at it suspiciously. “What is it?”

“It’s porridge,” Ruby said with just a touch of irritation. “It’s the same as you’ve been getting, except delivered by a prettier servant.”

Sam rolled his eyes, but he picked up the porridge and took a cautious taste. If she’d put something in it, he couldn’t tell. When he finished, he slid the bowl back out.

Ruby put it away and set the box aside. She came back and put a hand around one of the bars, leaning in a little. “Oh, my uncle did want to know if you had reconsidered your offer,” she said.

“I…” Sam looked toward the door. It wouldn’t be so bad, training his powers, being a prince again instead of a prisoner. And what was a vague bad feeling compared to the threat of whatever Alastair was coming up with? The thought of spiting Alastair’s latest plot appealed to him. Besides, while he’d be watched unless Lucifer was completely stupid, he’d already done everything he could think of to try to escape from the dungeon. Up there, he might have a chance. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do it,” he said, wrapping his hand around hers.

 

Dean waited two days while Pamela checked in on Sam. On the third day, Pamela looked a little panicked when she reopened her eyes. “He was talking to some girl, and she took him out of the dungeon. I tried to follow, but I think she sensed me because I got sent back here. You may get there to find Sam turned.”

“Mind-controlled, you mean,” Dean said. There’s no way Sam would break in a week. “Thanks for letting us know, Pamela. Guess we can’t wait any longer, the longer he’s controlled the harder he’ll be to free.”

“Yeah. Good luck, you’ll need it,” Pamela said.

Dean got the word to the volunteers they’d collected. Ava had been the first – she felt that there had to be a reason she got the dreams, and if anything significant happened she might get more. Dean and Anna would need to know right away, so she’d come with them. “I can handle myself in a fight… in addition to the crap dreams, I can summon shades. They’re not very bright, but they are useful.”

“Sounds like,” Dean said. “Thanks.”

Jake Talley volunteered almost right away. “In Eden, I was a knight. This sort of thing is what I did. You’re gonna need trained fighters… powers are all good and well, but sometimes, a sword through the gut is the best way to cut through a situation.”

“Thank you,” Dean said. “What’s your power, or are you another one like Anna, falsely accused?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Jake said. “I’m strong. Very strong. I got the king’s attention when I lifted a rock off a pile after a cave collapsed and it took five men to move it from where I put it. Not sure if that’s a power or just something weird.”

“Whatever it is, sounds like it’ll be good to have on our side,” Dean said. “Very glad to have you aboard, Sir Jake.”

Lily Baker was also pretty quick to volunteer. “My power sucks. I touch someone, their heart stops. Discovered that by killing my girlfriend. I can also channel it at a distance… when I was first exiled, I didn’t want to stay here. Figured a death touch would be useful for hunting. Got scared by a bear and shot this energy out of my hands. I hate my life, so if I end up dead or captured I don’t care.”

“Well, don’t be too hasty to get yourself killed,” Dean said. “But thank you.”

Max Miller came to volunteer after about a day. “I’m Gehennan, but no one here holds that against me. They say your brother can move things with his mind… I can, too. If he’s interested in training, I might be able to teach him some of the things my dad beat into me.”

“Your dad?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, him and his brother discovered I had powers. They actually worked for the king as trainers for people like me, so Lucifer let them keep me to train themselves. Their methods were…” Max trailed off, taking a moment to collect himself. “Prince Sam won’t have them, because I killed them both before I ran, but there’ll be someone like them. I’m terrified of going back, but if I can help him escape what I went through, I feel like I have to try.”

“Fair enough. Welcome aboard, and thank you,” Dean said.

The last of the volunteers didn’t show up until they were just about to set out. Anna looked up at a throat clearing. “Andy? What are you doing here?”

“Coming with you,” Andy said.

Ava came over. “I found out last night what happened to Ansem, one of my dreams. The Gehennans took him and broke him with their training methods.”

“Oh,” Anna said sympathetically. “Glad to have you aboard, Andy. I’m sorry about Ansem.”

“Me too. But I can keep it from happening to the prince and maybe get a little revenge.”

The eight of them set out, heading north. The idea was to get beyond the border quickly, to minimize the risk of running into full camps. Then they would cut over toward the capital, avoiding villages as much as possible. Things went smoothly for a couple days – Lily was good at taking out patrolling guards, and even with eight of them, they were quick and quiet.


	9. Plotting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam trains and Rowena does what she does best.

“Mother, this is Sam, Lucifer’s new heir,” Ruby said, bringing Sam to a woman with bright red hair. “Sam, my mother Rowena, the queen’s sister. She’s the strongest witch Gehenna’s seen in at least four generations, and she understands how things like your powers work and how to bring them out. You’ll do well with her training.”

“Well, hello there,” Rowena said, coming to examine Sam. “You are a powerful one, aren’t you. Such potential… Ruby, dear, fetch us all some wine. No time to waste in getting to work! What can you already do, Sam?”

“I get glimpses of the future in my dreams, and one time, when… a friend… was about to die, I was able to throw rocks with my mind to save him,” Sam said. He stopped in confusion wondering what he’d been about to say about Castiel. He was pretty sure it wasn’t a friend.

“Ooh, so the first thing to do is to bring out that telekinesis,” Rowena said. “Then we can work on seeing what other talents you may have. Most people only ever discover one or two on their own, but I know some tricks to unlock more if they’re there.”

For two weeks, Sam trained intensively. One evening, as they sat down to dinner, Rowena cleared her throat. “Sam, lad, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Of course, what is it, Rowena?” Sam asked.

“It’s the king, see,” Rowena said. “I know you don’t trust him at all. You know there’s some hidden trap to this, don’t you?”

Sam snorted. “No kidding. I keep waiting for it to spring. That’s why I’m working so hard, so that I’ll be ready when it does.”

“Well, lad…” Rowena said, leaning forward and motioning Sam closer. Sam leaned in, curious about what Rowena had up her sleeve. She was devious, and she and Ruby were both excellent at manipulating circumstances to suit them. He kind of suspected that adopting Sam as heir had been Rowena’s idea in the first place. “What if we sprung our own trap on him first?”

Sam supposed he should have expected like that. “He’d never see it coming,” Sam said. “Do you have a plan?”

“Oh, aye, I wouldn’t have brought this to you if I didn’t have a plan firmly in place,” Rowena said. “I know you value your honor and don’t care much for the way things are done here. I took that into account, and this is honorable. You see, we’re not going to go after Lucifer directly.”

“Then how?” Sam asked. He liked that Rowena had gone out of her way to come up with a good plan instead of just coming to him with the easiest.

“Well, you do know whose fault it is that you’re here to begin with instead of safe at home in Kansas with poor John still in charge?” Rowena asked. Sam shook his head. “My son Azazel led the army that took your parents and your kingdom from you princes. He plans to use it to build up his own power base, and then go after dear Lucifer in open battle.”

“So we side with Azazel?” Sam said.

“Goodness no, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Rowena said, leaning back in surprise. “You see it’s not Azazel we have to worry about, it’s the person pulling his strings.”

“And that is…” Sam prompted.

Rowena sighed. “My own dear sister, Lilith. She stole my son from me, my firstborn and my pride. She plans to steal Lucifer’s kingdom from him. You do see she’d be no better, and when Azazel is installed as king, she’ll run the show, don’t you?”

Sam nodded. “So I go after Lilith. Vengeance for my parents is a good enough reason to kill a non-combatant. But I don’t understand how that helps us with Lucifer.”

Ruby smiled maliciously. “Mother’s wedding gift to them was a spell that bound their lives. If you kill Lilith… Lucifer dies too.”

“Why would you want such a spell?” Sam asked in horror.

“Oh, Sam, you really haven’t been here very long, have you,” Ruby said. “Do you know how many queens have died at the hands of their king, or vice versa? Lilith wouldn’t marry Lucifer unless she had some assurance that he wouldn’t kill her if she failed to produce a healthy son quickly enough, and Lucifer wanted some assurance that Lilith wouldn’t kill him once the son was born so she could rule as regent.”

“And Lucifer wondered why I didn’t immediately jump at the offer he made,” Sam said. He momentarily questioned why he’d accepted, but it didn’t matter. He was here, and if Rowena’s plan worked, he would be king. And he could change the way things were done in Gehenna. Restore Kansas to Dean without the mess of a war. Keep the war against Eden going, of course, to give hope to his fellow people with powers. “What do we do about Azazel and your other son?”

“Leave my boys to me,” Rowena said. “Azazel of course must die so he won’t come after you for Lilith, but Crowley… he is an interesting one. I’ll see what we can do, but if it comes to killing him, I will do it.”

“And what about Ruby?” Sam asked. “I know Gehenna doesn’t like women on the throne, but there will probably be some lords who would prefer a woman to a foreigner.”

“Now that… that will depend on you,” Rowena said. “You’ve grown a bit fond of Ruby, have you not?”

Something inside Sam was trying to tell him that this was wrong, that there was something off about this whole plan, but he ignored it. “I have, Rowena. I don’t want to have to banish or kill or imprison her. You’re already losing one, maybe two of your children, I can’t imagine you want to do anything to her either.”

“Marry me,” Ruby suggested. “It adds legitimacy to you, since you’re as connected to Lucifer as possible, and you know you can trust me not to stab you in the back. And I don’t have to die.”

“Yes,” Sam said. “That is an excellent idea, Ruby. Rowena?”

Rowena put on a thoughtful look. “I hadn’t considered that possibility, but now that you say it, it does make perfect sense. Ruby, love, are you sure you want to do that?”

“I’m sure, Mother, where am I going to get a better husband, for me or for Gehenna?” Ruby said.

“Well then!” Rowena said, clapping her hands and standing up. “That’s that sorted, I’ll get things in place and let you know when I’m ready. Goodnight, you two.”


	10. Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's team reaches the castle but it's too late.

There were some close calls for the invading group. “One way or another, we’ll be there tomorrow,” Anna said, examining the map she’d brought. “Are we fighting, sneaking, or going in captive and breaking out?”

Dean looked at the people he had with him. “I’m not comfortable risking any of you as captives for the sake of a plan. I’ll create a diversion, the rest of you sneak in.”

“I’m staying with you,” Cas said. “Especially if your idea of a diversion is what I think it is.”

Dean chuckled. “Why am I not surprised? The plan is I walk up to the castle and demand to speak to the king, that I’ve come to ransom my brother. Should create a hole in security that you all can use. Max, Lily, Jake, don’t hesitate to kill guards or soldiers, but try to avoid harming the servants. Ava, your shades make great distractions for covering our strikers, cover them. Andy, you’ll be useful for getting the servants out of the way, convince them to go to the kitchens or something. Anna… do what you do best. Kick some ass.”

In the morning, Ava woke up with a muffled scream. “Dean, we may have a problem. My dream… your brother killed the queen. Powers or no, the king will rip him to pieces for that.”

“Why would Sam kill her? Escape?” Dean asked.

Ava shook her head. “He gave this speech about vengeance and Azazel and your parents. The queen didn’t look like she knew what he was talking about. Then he stuck a dagger in her heart and watched her bleed.”

“Azazel… the guy who took Kansas from us? What’s the queen got to do with anything?” Dean asked, though he didn’t really expect an answer. “Doesn’t really change anything, we just gotta get there before he puts vengeance ahead of his rescue. He’s got to know they’ll kill him, right?”

“This isn’t right,” Castiel said. “We’re missing a piece of the puzzle. Sam is young, but he’s never been impetuous or rash. I’m having a great deal of trouble imagining him killing someone in cold blood, and even more imagining him being so angry over Kansas that he loses his mind like that.”

“I don’t know, he was acting pretty impetuous when he threw those rocks at those guys,” Dean said.

Castiel glared at him. There was something bothering him about Sam’s situation, and Dean cracked jokes. “Because my life was in immediate danger and he did the only thing he could do to try and help. I’m sure Ava would have mentioned if she’d seen one of us in her dream, in danger.”

“You bet I would,” Ava said. “I didn’t see any of us. I was hoping I wouldn’t, because these dreams are usually warnings of something, so hopefully this means things go well and it’s just getting there quickly.”

“Speaking of which,” Dean said. “Let’s go.”

 

Castiel followed Dean as he walked across the bridge and pounded on the door to the castle. “I am Prince Dean of Kansas and I demand to be taken to the king!” he shouted as loudly as he could. As introductions went, Castiel couldn’t fault the simplicity of it.

The door swung open just a crack. “Who’s he?” the guard said, pointing to Cas.

“Sir Castiel, a knight sworn to the service of the prince,” Cas said with a short bow. “My oath and duty forbid me to allow him to go into this alone.”

“And that’s it? That’s all you brought?” the servant said incredulously.

“Who else would I need?” Dean asked. Castiel held back the eyeroll as a servant led them to the throne room.

“Wait here,” the servant said, disappearing into the throne room. He reappeared quickly. “His Majesty will see you. Follow me.”

Dean entered, Cas only half a step behind him. Lucifer rose to greet them. “Prince Dean! I must say, this is quite the surprise, I would have thought you too busy with your war…” He stopped, pressing a hand to his chest, stumbled, and fell. One of the servants ran forward, checking for signs of life.

“His Majesty is dead!” he wailed, backing away in terror. Castiel moved forward to check for himself, but had to agree with the servant. He nodded to Dean.

Dean whirled on the servant who looked the least panicked. “Where would the queen be? She must be told.”

“This… this way,” the servant stammered, leading Dean and Castiel down a hallway. He knocked on the door, which was thrown open.

.

“Today’s our day, love,” Rowena said, handing Sam a dagger. “Go take your vengeance.”

“Your sons?” Sam asked, taking the dagger and examining it.

“Azazel’s been seen to, and I’ll deal with Crowley while you’re dealing with Lilith,” Rowena assured him. “Now go on, lad! Ruby, go with him, there’s a good girl.”

Sam and Ruby left, going to find the queen. “Queen Lilith,” Sam said with a deep bow when they found her. “Years ago, you started the plan to take Kansas from my family. I lost my home that day. I lost my parents that day. I’ll never get my parents back, but I will get Kansas back. Right now, my brother’s army is marching towards Lawrence, and he will take back our land. My brother will kill Azazel for his vengeance. I’m killing you for mine.” He plunged the dagger into Lilith’s heart. She fell, bleeding out as Sam watched.

He turned at a knock on the door. Expecting Rowena, he threw it open.

 

“Sammy?” Dean asked. “Sammy, what did you do?”

“I killed the person who took Kansas from us,” Sam said. “Why are you even here?”

“Why do you _think_ I’m here?” Dean snarled. “I came to rescue you, you overgrown idiot! You didn’t seriously think Cas and I would just let you run off, did you?”

“Yes! I did! You have a kingdom to reclaim!” Sam gestured at Lilith. “A kingdom she took from us, by the way. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have killed her once you knew that!”

Castiel touched Dean’s arm. “We need to get back to the throne room. There’s something terrible going on, and we’re all missing pieces. Sam, bring the queen’s body, we should put her with her husband.”

“It worked then? Lucifer’s dead too?” Sam said, looking quite pleased as he picked up the corpse. “Their lives were bound together by a spell. You wouldn’t believe the kind of backstabbing that goes on here, they felt they had to do that so that neither of them would murder the other.”

They heard a shriek from the throne room as they approached, and found Rowena kneeling beside Lucifer’s corpse. “The king! What’s happened here?”

Sam dropped Lilith beside Lucifer, not taking much care to be gentle about it. “Your plan worked, Rowena. Assuming you’ve dealt with Crowley…”

Rowena stood up, eyes flashing pure hate at Sam. “You killed him! You murdered the king and queen!”

“Oh, now let’s not be too hasty to place blame here,” said a voice from the door. The man there threw a sack toward Rowena. “Hello, boys. I think it’s time we all had a little chat.”


	11. Crowley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plots are revealed and decisions are made about the future of both Gehenna and Kansas.

Rowena picked up the sack, and a head fell out. Another shriek tore out of her as she picked up the head. “My dear son…”

“Yes, yes, he’s the dear son,” the new arrival said. “I’m just the inconvenient one that you’d hoped would be a daughter. The one you’ve always said you’d sell for three pigs if you could find someone stupid enough to make the deal.”

“Crowley,” Sam said. “You’re Crowley.”

“Yes, I am. And you’re the one who put a blade in my aunt knowing it would kill my uncle as well,” Crowley said with a deep bow. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Prince Sam.”

“How?” Rowena rasped. “How did it kill Lucifer?”

“Ah, yes,” Crowley said, walking around the bodies carefully. “You must understand, your highness, that my mother is the very best at the games we play around here. She knows just the right mix of truth and lie to tell someone. Yes, Lilith and Azazel plotted the taking of Kansas between them. But there was never any spell linking Lilith’s life to Lucifer. Not until my man Gerald told me something very interesting.”

“But… Lucifer’s dead,” Sam protested. “So there was a spell.”

Crowley tsked. “Oh, there was a spell when they died, Prince. I cast it myself only yesterday. You see, Gerald told me that my mother was plotting to kill me and replace me with a puppet king she and Ruby had full control of.” He waved a hand as Rowena started to protest. “It does you no good to protest, Mother. When I realized you’d called Azazel back home, I knew something was in the works. So I met him and had an interesting little chat with him. You’d be amazed what a man will confess to when you know just where to apply the pressure.”

Crowley sat on the throne. “My mother never wanted Lucifer dead, Prince Sam, not yet anyway. You were supposed to kill Lilith, making you a regicide and therefore unfit for the throne. You would be executed, Lucifer would need a new queen, and Rowena would be there with a strong son who had already proven himself as a military leader. Why settle for putting your grandson on the throne when you can put your son on the throne instead?”

“Rowena?” Sam said, eyes wide. “Ruby, were you in on this plot?”

“No! It was supposed to be me and you, I was supposed to be the queen!” Ruby cried. “Mother, you promised, you swore to me that you would reward me for my work! For letting you use my blood! I don’t understand… I was your most loyal child, the best of them all! Why would you do this to me?”

“Wait a minute. What is going on here?” Dean said. “Can someone explain what Cas and I walked into?”

“First, call off your strike team,” Crowley said. “When everything shakes out, I expect to be king, and I’ll overlook the deaths of my people at the hands of yours if you’ll call them off _now_.”

Dean nodded. A few minutes later, six more people were in the room. “My people are here. This is all of us. Now hold up your end of the deal. What the hell is going on?”

Crowley leaned forward on the throne. “Lucifer captured Sam. He offered him a deal where he would adopt Sam as heir. With a little prodding from Ruby, Sam accepted. Rowena helped him train, and as she gained influence over Sam, she was able to convince him to kill Lilith. She told him that Lucifer would die too, that she would take care of me and Azazel, and Sam would be uncontested as heir. She really intended to have him kill Lilith, and then turn on him and have him and Ruby executed for the death of the queen. She would then marry Lucifer herself, making Azazel heir. You notice who gets screwed in either of these scenarios, so when Gerald told me, I put together my own. Azazel, Lucifer, and Lilith are dead; Sam, Ruby, and Rowena are a conspiracy to commit regicide, and that just leaves me to manage this kingdom.”

Castiel strode forward. “Your Majesty,” he said, kneeling. “There’s another layer to this. I know Sam quite well, and he would never have gone along with any of this – unless he were under someone’s control. One of our team has the ability to touch the minds of others, and he confirms this. Sam and Ruby both are under the control of Rowena. They’ll go along with any plan she puts before them.”

“Is this true, Mother?” Crowley said. “No, wait, you’ll never confirm one way or the other. In fact, be silent the rest of the conversation, you have nothing to add that I would ever believe or disbelieve.”

“At least part’s true,” Ruby said. “She and I both have control over Sam, I helped her make the potion we’ve been mixing into his food since he first arrived. She used my blood for it, as well as her own.”

“And this potion… when Rowena dies, will you and Sam be free?” Crowley asked. He was quite intrigued by this.

“Well, without Rowena to give me instructions, I won’t be controlled anymore,” Ruby said. “Sam will still be under mine.”

“So best to kill all of you, just to be sure,” Crowley said.

“Wait!” Castiel said. “I can cleanse them.”

Now Crowley was even more intrigued. “Oh? How?”

Castiel didn’t answer, not at first. “My father’s lands are on the border of the Fae. The king doesn’t want Edenites to have anything to do with the Fairies, and for good reason, but my mother ignored the edict. She took me to a Fairy who could read people, to ask if I had powers, if I would ever be at risk of being declared an abomination. The Fairy said that yes, I do, but my power is not one that I would ever come across accidentally. I can cleanse magic from people if I have a strong enough tie to them. I can’t promise that it will work on Ruby, but I know that it will cleanse Sam.”

“Which leaves me with an interesting conundrum,” Crowley said. “If Sam isn’t controlled by anyone now but was under the mind control of Rowena, then he’s not responsible for the regicide, and since Lucifer formally adopted him as heir…”

“I have no doubt that Sam will formally repudiate all claim to the throne of Gehenna,” Castiel said.

“And if he doesn’t?” Crowley pressed.

“If he doesn’t, or the cleansing doesn’t work, then you do what you must,” Castiel said.

“Wait a minute,” Dean said. “Cas, he’s going to _kill_ Sam.”

“No, he’s not, because this will work, and when has Sam ever expressed any interest in being king of anywhere? Sam doesn’t care about power or rank, and he would never accept a position that kept him so far from you,” Castiel said. “I’ll place my own life on the line here, too. If I am wrong, then I die too.”

“That’s not what I meant, Cas,” Dean said, rubbing a hand over his face. “I can’t let Crowley kill Sam.”

“You won’t have to.” Castiel turned back to Crowley. “Your Majesty?”

“This should be interesting,” Crowley said. “Go ahead, make Sam whole again.”

“Don’t I get a say in any of this?” Sam asked. “I don’t know that this will work…”

“It will, Sam,” Castiel said, approaching him. “Please allow me.” Sam swallowed hard and nodded. Castiel reached up, placing a hand on either side of Sam’s head. Sam’s head was surrounded by a red light, which slowly changed into a pure white as Castiel worked. Castiel dropped his hands, breathing hard. “Sam?”

“Cas. Oh god, Cas, what did I do?” Sam turned and knelt before Crowley. “The adoption by Lucifer was made against my true wishes. I do not acknowledge any claim to the throne of Gehenna and will not oppose Gehenna’s true king Crowley.”

“Well then,” Crowley said, truly surprised by this turn of events. “It’s for the best, Sam, you’d never have survived the Gehennan court. Not with your idealistic morality. Now, what about Ruby?”

“I can try. Ruby?” Castiel said, holding up his hands in offer.

Ruby nodded. “Do it if you can. If you can’t, well, one way or another Rowena’s dead today and I’ll be as good as free.”

Castiel placed his hands to Ruby’s face, and the red light glowed around her head. This time, however, none of the red began to leach away. “I’m sorry, Ruby. I can’t help you. I don’t have a strong enough connection, and it runs so deep in you. Sam was under your control for a matter of weeks. You’ve been under Rowena’s power since you were a very young child.”

“Very well. On to the next thing.” Crowley stood up and paced the room a bit. “Sam’s clear of any charge in Lucifer and Lilith’s deaths, but he _is_ still a captive of war, and I can’t start my rule of Gehenna by handing over a prisoner of war with no ransom.”

“Fine,” Dean said. “What do you want?”

Crowley came to a stop in front of Rowena. “This woman here killed her king and queen, and her own sister. She set up her daughter to be killed and would have done the same to me. She must die, but she is still my mother. Taking the life of the one who gave me mine feels too wrong.” He looked over to Sam. “But if someone will fetch the prince’s sword, he has no such qualm and since she set him up to die too, every reason. And, well.” Crowley paused for a smirk. “We do know he has some experience with sticking a blade into women who have wronged him.”

“And that’s it,” Dean said skeptically. “You’re gonna release a valuable prisoner of war if he’ll kill someone you can’t kill yourself.”

“He’s already taken out two of the three people I couldn’t handle alone, and removed himself from the situation,” Crowley said. “It’s thanks to him that I have my crown. I think that’s fair trade, don’t you?”

A servant had slipped out at Crowley’s implicit command, and returned with Sam’s belongings from when he was first captured. Sam took his sword and walked over to Rowena. “Do you have a preference for method?”

“I’d advise against trying to stab through the heart, as I’m not entirely certain she has one,” Crowley said. “Other than that, your deed, your decision.”

“Fair enough.” Sam drew back, and swung the sword in an arc through Rowena’s neck. Her head came off and rolled to a stop a few feet away.

“Bloody, but effective,” Crowley said, offering a handkerchief to Sam to wipe his sword with. “Personally I’d have gone for something a little more humiliating and painful, but I did leave it to you to decide. And that just leaves Ruby to determine what’s to be done with.”

“I’m younger than you and a woman. You know there’s not a lord or lady in Gehenna who would support me over you. Mother is dead, I can’t be controlled anymore, you don’t have to worry about me,” Ruby said, nearly tripping over her words several times as she tried to get them all out.

“There’s also the little fact that you’re married and I would think your husband would want to take you with him when he leaves,” Crowley said. “You’re not going to be able to do much to me from Kansas, are you, love?”

Sam looked incredibly startled. “You can’t be serious. We were both under mind control, neither of us agreed to this marriage on our own. Anyone with any sense would annul it.”

“And yet, it’s of great use to me and to your brother,” Crowley said, settling back on his throne. “You’re a prince, marrying for the benefit of the kingdom instead of your own benefit is part of the job. Ruby’s a princess now, marrying for the benefit of her kingdom. Honestly, if the two of you weren’t already married, I might have included that in the ransom.”

“Hang on a minute here,” Sam said. “How does this benefit either of our kingdoms?”

“It gets Ruby out of my kingdom and therefore unable to pose a threat to me, and a Gehennan sister-in-law might curb your brother’s appetite for revenge,” Crowley said. “As for Kansas, with Azazel dead, it’s mine to decide what to do with. I can make Dean fight his little war, or I can give it back as Ruby’s dowry. Dean?”

“Sammy… we could be back in Lawrence by the solstice,” Dean said. “He’s right, it really is a good idea. No more war, I can send the Edenite soldiers home and not have to worry about dealing with King Michael for a while, we don’t have to do the ‘find Sammy a proper wife’ routine…”

“No, because I’m stuck with a wife that you didn’t have any say in, I didn’t have any say in, and who definitely didn’t have any say in it herself,” Sam shouted. “Nothing personal, Ruby, but this whole situation stinks.”

“I know. But I’m good with the marriage, if you’re worried about me,” Ruby said.

“Cas? You’ve been awfully quiet over there, are you going to tell me why I’m being stubborn and I should go along with this too?” Sam asked.

Castiel tilted his head in confusion. “I’ve been quiet because this is a matter for kings and princes and princesses, not for a knight. Your marriage has very little to do with me.” This was something that Castiel would like to change, of course, but given the nature of the marriage he believed that Ruby wouldn’t mind a bit.

Sam flinched, and Castiel realized that he really should have not added the last part. “Well, then. If my king says this is what’s best for the kingdom, and Ruby is willing to go along, then I suppose I have little choice here. If your majesties will excuse me, I should go figure out what’s mine to bring that I would care to take with me.”

Dean caught Sam’s arm as he headed out. “Sammy… if you really are that bothered, I’ll fight this,” he said in a low voice. “We’ve got the soldiers, they’ve lost their leader, we don’t have to do this to get Kansas back.”

“No, it’s okay,” Sam said. “Like you said, it’s one less thing for you to worry about, I never got all that much say in things anyway. And it’s not like any of this is Ruby’s fault. I'll go along with this.”


	12. Chapter 12

On the way back, Castiel dropped back a bit to walk with Ruby. “Are you all right?”

“I have no idea who I am, and I’ve just left everything I’ve ever known to be the wife of someone who doesn’t want me and has every reason to hate me,” Ruby said. “And yet… I think I just might be all right eventually. Not any time soon, but someday.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had such a hard life, but Sam is a good man. He won’t blame you for your mother’s evil, and he’ll treat you well,” Cas said.

Ruby laughed. “I take it you’re the one I’m sharing him with, then? I’m not naïve or stupid, Castiel, I know better than to expect Sam not to look for love elsewhere. I’d rather he did, really, it’s not like I care any more about him than he does about me. Think he’ll let me find someone, if I take the necessary precautions about children?”

“Probably,” Castiel said. “I’m hoping to be that person for him, but I don’t know. I may have left it too late.”

“You know, my first instinct was to fight this as hard as Sam was,” Ruby admitted. “But then I got to thinking about what my other options were. I’m a princess now. I was going to be married off to someone as soon as Crowley could arrange it, and given who Gehenna’s allies are, I really don’t think I could have done any better than Sam. This of course assumes that Crowley didn’t decide to just kill me, just to be sure. I can’t say I’m happy about being Sam’s wife, but at least I’m not dead or having to live in paranoia for the rest of my life, you see?”

“Yes, I do see,” Castiel said. “I hope you will eventually be happy in Kansas, and with Sam.”

 

They met up with the army about halfway from the border to Kansas, and Dean spread the word. The Edenite officers took their leave of the Kansans, taking their soldiers with them. Dean was quite proud to arrive back at Lawrence at the head of a Kansan army with his brother at his side – with, admittedly, a few foreign freelancers among them.

There was a great cheer when Dean raised the Winchester flags over the castle, and send out riders to all of the lords who hadn’t come to him in Eden to make sure they knew that there had been a change in the regime, and that their new king expected them in court as soon as feasible to renew their vows of fealty. Those who had come, he was pleased to accept the vows of before they went back to their own lands.

The first night back home, Cas knocked on Sam’s door. Sam opened it. “Cas? What are you doing here?” He paused. “If you’re here to yell at me for not being with Ruby…”

“No, I’m not,” Castiel interrupted. “I came to… to ask something of you.”

Sam stepped aside to let Cas in. “Name it. You’ve done so much for Dean and me, I’ll give you whatever you want from me.”

“No,” Castiel said. “This is something that I would never accept as a reward for loyal service or friendship or clearing your head. Please don’t say yes unless you truly want to.”

“Okay…” Sam pulled out a chair for Cas and went to sit on his bed. “What do you want?”

Castiel bit his lip. He’d been practicing this conversation since they left Crowley’s court, and hadn’t come up with a better way to ask than to just say what he wanted. “I want to be your companion.”

“My… what?” Sam asked, taken aback.

Well, that was not what Castiel had expected. “Your companion. A person who…”

“No, I know what a companion is,” Sam said. “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re asking, because you never said or did _anything_ that would have led me to expect it.”

That was more along the lines of Cas’s expectations. “I am aware. Sam, back in Asgard, I know you loved me. I never let you say anything, because then, I couldn’t give you what you wanted. Now, I can.”

Sam laughed in disbelief. “A prince in exile you’re not good enough for, but the brother of a king you are? I’m not seeing how that makes any sense, Cas.”

“It’s not about being good enough. Dean says I am, if you love me then you must think I am, so the two people who get to make that decision have made it,” Castiel explained. “I couldn’t give you what you wanted because I couldn’t give myself to you only to watch you leave, or to have to leave you. I was sworn to King Michael; I didn’t get to decide whether to stay or return to Eden. So I made sure you never knew of my love for you, so that I wouldn’t have to break your heart to follow my duty.”

“Well, that’s nice and all, but you could’ve done something once you were sworn to Dean instead,” Sam pointed out. “You didn’t.”

“The first night we were in the field preparing for a battle come morning, and I don’t know how Kansas does things, but in Eden, that’s not a time for love. Then you’d saved my life, and I was afraid that you would think I was using this to thank you for it. And it was only a few weeks until we rode for Kansas, so I didn’t see the harm in waiting until we were here.”

“You could have died!” Sam said. “And I’d have watched it and known I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t even warn you, and you would have died never having told me that you love me.”

“Which would have been crueler, telling you I love you and then dying in battle before we could act on it, or letting you continue as you had been, believing I only cared for you as a friend and a brother and that even if I’d lived you would never have gotten what you wanted of me?” Cas asked. “That was the reasoning I used the night you ran. Of all the time we spent in Eden, that night is the one I want back. I should have gone to you that night.”

Sam shook his head. “It wouldn't have mattered. I’d still have found a way to run. I dreamt of Dean dying because he was helping me escape, and the surest way to prevent that was to make it impossible for Dean to help me escape. Even you couldn’t have held me if it meant Dean’s death, or yours.”

“I figured as much, but I could have run with you,” Cas said. “At least you’d have known that I love you, when you ran.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Sam said. “If you love me so much, why didn’t you stand up for me with the Ruby situation?”

Castiel stared at Sam for a moment. “Sam, you’re a king’s brother. Something like this was always going to happen. I could never have married you myself, this is the closest I could hope for, and it really is none of my business who you did end up marrying.”

“Still… _Ruby_?”

“She told me when I spoke to her that this is about the best she could have hoped for, and that she has no objection to you having a companion and she hopes you do. I don’t know, there may have been a better wife for you somewhere out there, but I think Ruby will make a good one,” Castiel said.

“You talked to Ruby about this,” Sam said.

“Yes. She couldn’t have stopped you from accepting if you want to and I would have asked no matter what, but I wanted to know whether I would be at odds with your wife or if she would accept me. She’s a practical person who knows what’s expected of her and what she can expect of you. Give her a chance, you just might like her.”

“Huh. Cas… why are you here?” Sam asked.

Cas thought he’d covered that. “I’m here to do what I should have done before we left Eden, to tell you that I love you and ask you to allow me to be your companion. I realize that I did my duty a little too well back there, making sure you had no idea how I felt when I couldn’t act on it, but Dean knew. He’s known for a little over a year.”

“And that’s it. There’s no hidden catch, no ulterior motive, love is all you’re here for?” Sam asked.

Cas stood up. “Do you really think I would do that to you? We’ve been friends for three years, saved each other’s lives, and you honestly think I would use you to fulfill an agenda? If you can believe that, then I suppose I was wrong, and I should just go.”

“Cas, wait!” Castiel stopped, turning back. “Cas, I spent the last month in the kind of kingdom where I wouldn’t be able to trust my own brother, my own parents or children or wife. I don’t imagine Gehennan nobles _have_ friends. And before that, I was betrayed by King Michael, who’s supposed to be one of the noblest and wisest kings around. Can you really blame me for looking for the hidden knife? I _don’t_ think you would do that to me. But I would never have believed that someone could kill their brother. You waited over a year to say something to me to protect yourself. This is me trying to protect myself from more betrayal, more lies.”

Castiel closed his eyes, trying to sort through the turmoil in his head. It hurt so bad that Sam would think that, but considering what Sam had been through, Cas supposed he couldn’t blame his friend. “Sam…”

“Please, Cas, I know I can trust you, it’s just going to take a little time to get over Gehenna,” Sam said. “If you want to wait, then I’ll accept that, but I love you, you love me, and I think we’ve waited too long already.”

Castiel turned back, going to sit beside Sam on the bed. “Yes. Yes, we have. And that’s my fault. I can’t change that, but I can refuse to make the same mistake again.”

Sam broke into a smile, the full, dimpled smile he hadn’t used since before being declared an abomination. He reached up, cupping Cas’s cheek, and leaned forward to kiss him. Cas was perfectly happy to kiss back.

Eventually, Cas pulled away. “I suppose you should know that I’ve never…”

“That doesn’t surprise me, you’re not like Dean,” Sam said. “I haven’t either.”

“You and Ruby haven’t…”

Sam made a face. “We got married that morning. We didn’t have time before Rowena came to get me to put the plan in motion, and afterward, neither of us have been in any kind of hurry.” Castiel started to say something, but Sam cut him off with a kiss. “I know, it’s our duty, and we _will_. I just… call me a fool, but I was going to try one more time to talk to you. I want my first time to be with you. Tomorrow I’ll go to Ruby, but tonight, I’m yours.”


	13. There's No Place Like Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean has a kingdom, so it's time to make some changes.

Dean set aside the papers he was slowly working his way through when the door opened. “Anna! Thanks for coming. I know you’re eager to get back to your people, but I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What can I do for your majesty?” Anna asked with a curtsy.

“Without your people, I would never have made it to Sam in time, and he would be dead. That’s a debt I don’t know that I can repay, but I’d like to try. Do your people still feel a strong attachment to Eden?” Dean asked.

“Eden threw them out,” Anna said. “Some of them miss it, others are angry or bitter. Why?”

“I was looking at the map that Gabriel gave me to find you, and you’re right on the Kansas border. Which means you’re still in Eden, and if someone does find you, you could all be killed. But if you move five miles east, you’re unmistakably in Kansas, and if anyone gives you trouble, you’ll have royal support.” Dean showed her the map, pointing out the site he thought would be good. “You could expand, Rachel doesn’t have to nearly kill herself to protect you… you could even make yourself known in Eden so that when Michael does this again, the exiles know they have somewhere to go.”

Anna looked thoughtfully at the map. “That is a very tempting offer. If they’re safe, though, then I don’t think they need me to run it. A haven for people with powers should be ruled by one of their own, not by someone who doesn’t really understand what it’s like, and a village in Kansas needs to belong to a Kansan lord, not an Edenite.”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “And you have someone particular in mind, I take it.”

“Sam. He’s been thrown out of Eden, like most of them; he’s been to Gehenna, so he knows what it’s like for those refugees, and he belongs here in Kansas,” Anna said. “Now, I know you don’t want him that far away, and that’s all right; he can appoint one of them as his representative.”

“And you have someone in mind for that, too,” Dean said with a grin.

“Missouri or Rachel, unless Kansas is one of those stupid kingdoms that can’t have a woman in charge,” Anna said.

Dean snorted. “I was perfectly happy to have you in charge. Last I looked, you’re a woman.”

“So you noticed that,” Anna teased. “Good. But I’m not just a woman, I’m sort of a princess. I was content leading my haven, but I want to be a princess again. Unless… do you think I’d be a good queen?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Not entirely sure why you’re asking me, it’s not like I have a spare kingdom lying around to put you in charge of,” Dean said.

Anna laughed and shook her head. “You may be a king, but that doesn’t make you infallible, does it. You don’t need a spare kingdom to make a woman a queen, you weirdo!”

“What?” Dean said, looking confused. Anna just looked at him. “But… I… oh. Oh, right. My wife will be a queen. And you’re…” Dean cut off and laughed at himself. “Right before Sam got thrown out, before I learned that your father is a good king but a royal ass, I was saying I was sorry he didn’t have a daughter, because an Edenite princess would be a great choice for a wife. So, if you’re serious, then let’s get the wedding arranged.”

“I’m serious. I like what I’ve seen of you, and I think you’re going to do a good job with Kansas. I’d like to be a part of that,” Anna said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peeks out from under rock*  
> *leaves cookies with new chapter*
> 
> I have no excuse. This chapter has been written pretty much since I started publishing. Plan is to add a short "x years later" tag that is *not* written yet, but that's still no excuse for not putting this out.


	14. Ten Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten years have changed Sam and Dean and their families, but some things will always remain the same.

Sam rode beside Cas on their way out to Haven. Ahead of them rode Prince John, Dean’s son, eight years old and finally allowed to ride his own pony for the trip instead of being in the carriage with the younger kids or riding with his father or mother. “You know, Dean says I looked like that when I got to ride alone for the first time,” Sam told Cas. “I can’t believe it. I have never been that graceful on a horse.”

“You know, soon it’ll be Katie out on her own,” Cas teased. Katie was Sam’s older daughter, only a year younger than John. “You won’t be so amused then, will you.”

“Katie’s gonna stay a little girl forever,” Sam said. “She promised.”

“And Ruby promised Meg was like her, that she would be grateful to get out of Gehenna,” Castiel said. Ruby had been trying to talk Sam into getting Dean to grant her cousin asylum after she ran afoul of Crowley. Dean didn’t want to risk making Crowley upset. For the first time in several generations, Kansas and Gehenna were, if not at peace, at an armed standstill at least. Relations with Eden weren’t as good as usual, partly because of Gehenna, partly because of Haven, but mostly because Michael was furious that Dean had married Anna without asking his permission. If it weren’t for Gabriel, Kansas and Eden might well be at war.

Of course, when Sam proved reluctant, Ruby took matters into her own hands. She used some of her old contacts to smuggle Meg to Haven, where Rachel had introduced her to Castiel. Cas and Meg had several spirited debates, which usually ended with Sam hauling his Companion off to bed or Ruby throwing Meg into the basement, but when it came time for Sam and his family to leave, he somehow found Meg with them.

Not long after, Sam cornered Castiel. “Come on. Let’s do this.”

“Do what?” Castiel asked, setting down his book and looking at Sam in complete bewilderment.

“Do the bit where you tell me you’re grateful for everything that I’ve done for you and that you’ll always love me, but Dean’s made you a count, and you’ve been stalling but you need to find a countess to establish succession and you’ve found someone you wouldn’t mind marrying,” Sam said.

“Oh.” Castiel looked down at the floor. “Sam, I do love you, and I always will. If you say no, then this will be the last you hear of it, and I won’t hold it against you or resent you for it. But if you would agree to it… I have become rather fond of her. I enjoy our fights. And, as you said, I do have a succession of my own to think about.”

“What will you do if I say no?” Sam asked. “About the succession, I mean, you already told me what you’d do about me and Meg.”

“Designate Genevieve as my heir.” Genevieve was Sam’s younger daughter. “Unless you and Ruby have a son that displaces Katie as yours, or Gen develops powers and becomes a more fitting heir for the Prince of Haven.”

“Well, Gen will be disappointed, so let’s not tell her that,” Sam said. “Cas, of course you can marry Meg. On one condition.”

“What’s the condition?” Castiel asked.

“She doesn’t get to take you away from me. You’re still my companion.” Sam pulled Cas into a hug. “Think she’ll go for it?”

Castiel leaned in, smiling. “I didn’t want to tell you this, but Dean’s granted her conditional asylum. He knew that I was trying to figure out how to ask you for permission, and he said that if I married her, she can stay here. Otherwise, he’s sending her back to Gehenna. I think she’d agree to just about any condition, and that one’s not even bad.”

Meg had, in fact, agreed, and the next year, she and Cas had twin daughters of their own: Nicole and Rachel. Dean had gravely informed Anna that her second child really needed to be a boy, because there were entirely too many girls running around the royal palace. But when Anna had delivered Gabrielle, Dean denied it. He insisted that he had a perfectly good son already, and what he’d wanted all along was a daughter that he could spoil rotten. And look at her, she was perfect!

Rachel – Big Rachel, Sam’s steward of Haven – was on the road to meet them. “Welcome to Haven, my king, you and your family. My lord.” Rachel bowed to Sam. “It’s always good to have you home, my lord.”

Sam looked around at the town. It had nearly tripled in size since the move, as Edenite and Gehennan refugees came, and many Kansans with powers came to be among others like them. “It’s good to be home, Rachel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I am so sorry this took so long to get up! I hope you all enjoyed the trip with me, and will forgive me for the sappy happily ever after ending. It *is* a fairy tale, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, I am *terrible* at titles. I'm so sorry.
> 
> Every time you comment, a fairy gets its wings!


End file.
